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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24695821">A New Chance [on hiatus]</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahoeinplainsight/pseuds/ahoeinplainsight'>ahoeinplainsight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(he still kinda does but he gets by fine with out because he's actually competent), Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, BAMF Harry Potter, DID I MENTION HARRY GETS SHIT DONE, F/F, F/M, Harry Potter Dies, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry Potter Gets the Love He Deserves, Harry Potter Has a Different Name, Harry Potter Has a Good Life, Harry Potter Has a Pet Snake, Harry Potter Has a Sibling, Harry Potter is A Functional Adult, Harry Potter is Not a Horcrux, Harry Potter is Not the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter is So Done, Harry Potter is a Good Friend, Harry Potter is a Little Shit, Harry Potter is tired, Harry Potter to the Rescue, I love him, James Potter &amp; Lily Evans Potter Live, James Potter Lives, Lily Evans Potter Lives, M/M, Master of Death Harry Potter, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Professor Harry Potter, Sirius Black Never Went to Azkaban, Slight Albus Dumbledore bashing, Slytherin Harry Potter, Smart Harry Potter, The Ministry of Magic is Not That Bad, Time Travel, Time Travelling Harry Potter, and guess what, and let you decide for yourself whether or not you will read it, anyway, blink and you miss it - Freeform, characters will be ooc this cannot be avoided, does a years work in two days, dont get your hopes up for a completed story this is just for funsies :'), half the tags apply to one and the other half apply to the other, harry definitely doesn't have the emotional reactions he should but just pretend they're there, harry gets a snake and james absolutely hates it, harry potter time travels and Gets Shit Done, he calls dumbledore's bullshit out on multiple occasions, he gets to the past and says 'what the fuck are you DOING', he goes to college and everything, he is determined to get his way no matter what, he's an independent man who doesn't need hermione in his life, he's not taking Any Shit this time around, i am going to stop talking bad about my story, i am incapable of writing a character that is fully in character, i needed to get to a point i was more comfortable writing about, it always works, it will not be a very good romance story but it'll be a story nonetheless so, it's one sentence, it's the longest thing i've ever written and i'm proud of it but i know it is Subpar, like i said, like very fast paced tho, mans does a years work within two days, not really but you'll see, relationships will probably not be developed properly but i am trying my best, sirius gets a muggle job to spite his family but ends up loving it, the potter's have a cat, there are two harrys, this is a lot of dialogue, very fast paced in the first seven chapters, very very minor Hermione Granger Bashing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:36:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>24,037</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24695821</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahoeinplainsight/pseuds/ahoeinplainsight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Harry dies in the Forbidden Forest, he is surprised to wake up to Death greeting him. Death gives Harry a 'chance to make it better' and Harry, naive boy that he still is, decides not to further investigate what Death really means. Harry wakes up in a world similar to his own and realizes that he can make this world a better place than the one he left behind. He seizes the opportunity with a small promise hidden in the back of his mind. When he dies again, Death is going to hear a piece of his mind.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Harry Potter &amp; Harry Potter, Harry Potter &amp; James Potter, Harry Potter &amp; James Potter &amp; Lily Evans Potter, Harry Potter &amp; Lily Evans Potter, Harry Potter/Bill Weasley, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Minerva McGonagall/Poppy Pomfrey, Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood, Remus Lupin &amp; Harry Potter, Sirius Black &amp; Harry Potter, Sirius Black &amp; Remus Lupin &amp; Harry Potter &amp; James Potter &amp; Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, past Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>122</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>915</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>He was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy, besthpficsinmyopinion, did someone say time travel, harry is in a 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello! You made it past the dreadful summary that was me talking out of my ass and the way too long tags of me talking about how I don't think I'm a good writer! Congrats! This is my first time posting my actual writing in a long time and thankfully, my skills have gotten better since the last time. I don't know if I'll ever actually finish this story but I know that I got inspired by The Order of Time by gothambeat for the idea and it's the most I've written in a long time. I have seven chapters already written and I'll hopefully have more by the time those seven are posted. I plan to post one chapter every Saturday so I'm giving myself seven weeks to write a few more chapters, I think we'll be good. I will definitely inform you if I ever start to lose interest in this story, don't worry. I currently do not have a beta, I'm editing everything myself, so please feel free to inform me of any mistakes you see or give me constructive criticism on how to better my writing. I'm always looking for ways to improve and if you see something you know is wrong, don't be afraid to point it out and tell me how to make it better! Now, onto the story!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry jerks awake and immediately sits up. Blood rushes to his head but he fights the dizziness and pounding to look around at his surroundings.</p><p> </p><p>Hospital wing. He breathes a sigh of relief before tensing again. If he’s in the hospital wing, what the hell happened after that curse was shot at him? He was sure he was dead, sure he was going to die. Why is he not? He doesn't remember anything after see the green light heading toward him.</p><p> </p><p>“Dear lord, boy, what gives you the idea that you can sit up like that?” a familiar tone scolds him, pushing him back down on the bed.</p><p> </p><p>“Madam,” Harry mumbles, looking into the witch's eyes, “how did I get here? What’s going on out there?”</p><p> </p><p>Madam Pomfrey sighs but she doesn’t stop in her movements to check him over, “You were found in the Forbidden Forest all alone. We suspected it was the acromantulas but they told us you had just appeared and they didn’t want to touch you. We wanted to wait until you were better to ask questions to confirm our suspicions.”</p><p> </p><p>All alone? That can’t be right. Voldemort would’ve taken his body to show off to everyone, to boast about his accomplishment, why would they just leave him? </p><p> </p><p>“You’re all healed but it’s up to you if you think you can be questioned right now,” Madam Pomfrey says. </p><p> </p><p>Harry nods numbly and barely registers the next few minutes. He stands with her help and then he’s in the headmasters office without a clue of what happened in between. Though, now he’s even more confused because there’s <em> Sirius </em> and then <em> Lupin </em> and then— <em> his parents? </em> And that’s his baby self in his mum’s arms, no doubt about it, and there’s a familiar looking cat in his dad’s arms and what the fuck is going on? At least Professor McGonagall is next to Dumbledore because Harry is sure without her familiar face, he’d be having a panic attack in front of everybody.</p><p> </p><p>“Before we get into it all, might we have your name?” Dumbledore says.</p><p> </p><p><em> Dumbledore. </em> He’s alive. Something is terribly wrong and Harry is beginning to suspect what might’ve happened when that curse hit him.</p><p> </p><p>“Harry,” he barely finishes saying before he launches into another sentence. “Professor, what’s the date?”</p><p> </p><p>Dumbledore shares a look with McGonagall and then says carefully, “November 1, 1981.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry curses quietly and casts a look at his parents. At least he did something good.</p><p> </p><p>“What did you want me to say, Harry?” Dumbledore says.</p><p> </p><p>Harry blanks at that. He has absolutely no clue what the date was, so really, the day he supposedly died could be any day of the year. The year.</p><p> </p><p>Harry swallows, “1998, sir. Close to summer but still spring, maybe April or May. That doesn’t matter, I’ve time traveled and I’ve already changed history forever, this isn’t good.”</p><p> </p><p>“No. No, it isn’t,” Dumbledore mumbles. “If you’ve already changed history, it wouldn’t hurt to tell us what happened that led to you time traveling.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry recalls the ultimatum. One hour, he said, or they’d surely regret it. Leaving before Hermione and Ron could find him and try to stop him. The walk. The talk with his parents and Sirius and Lupin. Facing Voldemort. The curse. </p><p> </p><p>Harry finds his scar and traces the top half of it with his fingers, a habit he picked up over the year. He doesn’t know why it’s comforting, it should be anything but, but it helps him order his thoughts into something resembling coherent. </p><p> </p><p>“You-Know-Who killed me,” is what actually falls out of his mouth, not the detailed explanation he wanted. </p><p> </p><p>It doesn’t have the effect on everyone that it would’ve if Harry had said his actual name but it’s the thought that counts.</p><p> </p><p>“And you think this sent you back in time?” </p><p> </p><p>“Maybe. There’s not any other explanation. You-Know— <em> Voldemort </em>, he shot the curse at me and I remember falling but I woke up in the hospital wing. We were keeping our injured in the Great Hall so that was the first red flag and then the rest of the wing was empty so that was the second. But… yes, I think it was the curse that sent me back in time and no, I’ve not the slightest clue why.”</p><p> </p><p>He closes his eyes and tries to get his thoughts under control again, lest he go on another tangent he doesn’t need to go on. They need relevant information, not the knowledge of where they were keeping their injured.</p><p> </p><p>“Harry, why did Voldemort kill you in the first place?” Lupin speaks up.</p><p> </p><p>Harry shakes his head, not opening his eyes, “I can’t answer those questions right now, I’m barely holding it together, just… let Professor Dumbledore ask the questions right now.”</p><p> </p><p>Lupin takes an audible step back and Harry opens his eyes, looking at Dumbledore.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I don’t know what else there is <em> to </em>ask, my boy,” Dumbledore says solemnly. “You think it was the killing curse that sent you back in time and I don’t see what else it could’ve been, unless you have a time turner hidden somewhere.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, they were all destroyed in my fifth year,” Harry mumbles. Dumbledore looks slightly taken back by this but does a good job of hiding it.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there any other possible reason as to why this could’ve happened?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry thinks about what happened after the curse. It all comes back to him suddenly and he almost gets dizzy by the sheer force of it. King's Cross. The talk with Dumbledore. The talk with Death.</p><p> </p><p>Bloody <em> fucking </em>Death. </p><p> </p><p>Harry sighs, “Yes. Okay, um, this is going to sound absolutely barmy but just let me explain.”</p><p> </p><p>Everyone nods.</p><p> </p><p>He quickly starts explaining how he came to be the owner of all three Deathly Hallows — Christmas, first year. Disarming Malfoy. The snitch opening in the forest — and then his conversation with Death after the fact that explained how he’s the Master of Death and basically has free reign with his own life after dying. By the time he finishes, nobody is giving him disbelieving looks but they do look rather bewildered, even Dumbledore. </p><p> </p><p>“So, this wasn’t the killing curse’s fault, but your own?” Sirius says slowly, as if testing all the words out in his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“Technically. Death is very manipulative with his words but yes, it was me who made the final decision,” Harry says. “But I didn’t know I’d wake in a different year, I thought I would be waking up in the present so I could defeat Voldemort once and for all so I’m just as shocked as you guys.”</p><p> </p><p>“You certainly aren’t acting like it,” McGonagall says.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s been a very rough sixteen years, this is just Tuesday,” Harry says.</p><p> </p><p>“Merlin,” James mutters, shaking his head. There’s a hint of amusement in his voice when he speaks again, “Couldn’t have at least pretended to have a good first eleven?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry blinks before remembering that he’s not told them the finer details of his life. </p><p> </p><p>“Um, well, I had a good <em> first </em>year,” Harry says carefully. “But… Well, my showing up here seemed to have prevented… your… deaths.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” the amusement is gone now. “Well, that’s decidedly less fun than what I was thinking.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry nods. He looks at Sirius and Lupin before looking back at his parents and swallowing the sudden lump in his throat, “But tonight still happened? He still attacked and tried to kill me?”</p><p> </p><p>Lily frowns, “Yes but we had our wands and managed to fight him off until the Order arrived to help.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry finds that he quite likes her voice when it’s just speaking normally. The only other time he’s heard it has been in nightmares or around dementors and it had been pleading for his life in those times so this is much more preferable to that.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s still alive?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Harry slumps back in his seat. “I guess we’ll have to find out some other way to defeat him.”</p><p> </p><p>A thought occurs and Harry perks back up, “The Longbottom’s, are they — ?”</p><p> </p><p>“Fine. The wards are holding up, their secret keeper is holding steady,” Dumbledore says.</p><p> </p><p>Harry lets out a breath of relief, “Good. That’s good.” He doesn’t know what he’d do if he found out that Neville turned out to be the Boy Who Lived. That’s a burden he doesn’t want anybody else to have to deal with. </p><p> </p><p>His eyes find his sleeping baby self and he frowns. Teddy. He left the boy behind. He’s going to grow up without his godfather or his parents around, just like Harry did. Except Teddy at least gets to go to his grandmother, something Harry is immensely grateful for. He never even met the kid and Lupin still made him godfather, still trusted him enough to help raise his kid if the worst happened. </p><p> </p><p>Harry finds himself hoping Malfoy and his mother get to meet Teddy and isn’t that a weird thought? But he thinks it’s what they deserve, after the war. It’s obvious neither of them want to be on the side they’re on and if Andromeda can perhaps forgive her sister, Teddy might have a better aunt to help raise him than Harry ever did. A better cousin. </p><p> </p><p>Harry has no idea when he started looking for the good in people but he supposes it's not a bad thing. Better than just thinking everybody is evil until they prove themselves to not be, he guesses. </p><p> </p><p>“You really are eerily calm about all of this,” Lily says softly.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve been screaming inside of my head ever since I woke up but yeah, let’s continue to think that,” Harry nods. Sirius snorts and James cracks a smile. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course you are but the fact that you aren’t showing how freaked out you are is impressive,” Lily says. “I don’t want to think about the possible reasons as to <em> why </em>you can stay this calm but it’s much more preferable to you being an incoherent mess.”</p><p> </p><p>“Luckily for you, I also don’t want to think about the reasons so we’re on the same page here.”</p><p> </p><p>Lily shakes her head, a smile threatening her lips as she looks down at the sleeping form in her arms. “Gah, that’s so bizarre. My one-year-old son in my arms and my seventeen-year-old son in front of me.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry feels like his throat closes as those words. <em> Right. </em> He’s her son. That’s his mother. There’s a four year age gap between them but that’s his mother and that’s his father. </p><p> </p><p>It <em> is </em>bizarre.</p><p> </p><p>“Harry, you said you didn’t know the exact date,” Lupin suddenly says and Harry looks at him. Merlin, he’s so young, it’s strange. “Why is that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Um… I was on the run most of the year. It was the end of April or the beginning of May, that’s really all I know. I tried to keep track after Christmas but that was useless,” Harry shrugs. </p><p> </p><p>“On the run?” James says.</p><p> </p><p>“Among other things. Voldemort took control of the ministry so I was Undesirable Number One for the year, being his biggest threat, so… I kinda had to lay low. There was a taboo on his name, that’s why I said ‘You-Know-Who’. I’m not afraid of saying the name, it was just that I couldn’t without giving up our hiding spot so I’ve gotten used to not saying it over the year.”</p><p> </p><p>“I think you’ve been through more than we can imagine, kid,” Sirius says.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I think it’s pretty imaginable but certainly things you wouldn’t expect,” Harry says. </p><p> </p><p>“I can’t tell who you got the sassiness and sarcasm from, it’s like a mixture of them both,” Lupin says.</p><p> </p><p>“That is the first time someone has compared me to them in a way that isn’t by my looks, believe it or not,” Harry says. “Though, I believe I got a bit more of my father’s personality than my mother’s, considering how unbelievably stupid I am.”</p><p> </p><p>This earns a laugh out of everybody.</p><p> </p><p>“Offensive, first of all,” James says. “And second of all, who allowed you to know that I’m stupid?”</p><p> </p><p>“Um, anybody who knew you,” Harry says and James looks scandalized by the words, making Harry laugh for the first time in a while. “Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Kingsley, Snape. I think the only people who never downright told me that my mother was the brains of everything was Dumbledore and Hagrid.”</p><p> </p><p>“Snape? Really?” Sirius says.</p><p> </p><p>“I fought tooth and nail with Snape about my father on multiple occasions, he was the only one I never believed when he told me the height of my father’s stupidity,” Harry says. “It took me watching some of his memories to finally understand and also see how wrong I was when I denied the fact that my father strutted.”</p><p> </p><p>James snorts, “I can't even argue, I did.”</p><p> </p><p>“You do,” Lily smirks and laughs when James gives her an incredulous look.</p><p> </p><p>“Harry, are you hungry?” McGonagall asks, seemingly out of the blue.</p><p> </p><p>Harry blinks and quickly realizes that yes, he very much is. He can’t remember the last time he had a proper meal, he’s been living off mushrooms and food rations for so long now. He’s not even sure he <em> can </em>eat a meal. He remembers the first start-of-term feast, where he ate so much he made himself sick later, to the point where it was painful. His body just hadn’t been used to eating proper food and when it finally got it, it didn’t know how to act. He thinks that might happen again.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes but I don’t think I can eat much. I’ve been living off the bare minimum for a year, I’ll make myself sick with just one plate, honestly,” Harry says.</p><p> </p><p>McGonagall frowns, “Well, I’ll have the house elves make you something small, then. We might move this to the staff room, you can all eat. Albus has a school to run and I have classes but I assume you can all at least look after yourselves for the time being.”</p><p> </p><p>“Course we can, Minnie,” Sirius flashed a smile at her. “We’re idiots but we’re not incompetent.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d like to believe that, Mr. Black, I really would,” McGonagall says, earning a bark of laughter as she leaves the headmaster's office.</p><p> </p><p>“I believe Minerva is right. Need I direct you to the staff room?” Dumbledore says.</p><p> </p><p>“We got it,” James says. “Thank you for letting us hide out here while we figure this out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, Mr. Potter. Now, I do have a school to run and breakfast will be starting soon,” Dumbledore stands up. “I will come and check on you after dinner. Stay in the staff room, please, we don’t need students causing trouble. Wards would help as well, I’ll inform the professors to steer clear.”</p><p> </p><p>“We will, Professor,” Lily says. “Once again, thank you. Now, come on, boys, I don’t trust James not to get us lost.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, I know this castle like the back of my hand, Mrs. Potter, I would not get us lost,” James says. </p><p> </p><p>Harry stands up and Lupin and Sirius fall into pace next to him as they follow Lily and James out of the office.</p><p> </p><p>“Remus knows this castle like the back of his hand, you just like to think you do,” Lily says.</p><p> </p><p>Lupin smirks, “While that is true, it was James here who informed me of many features of the castle I wouldn’t have known about without him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Jimmy-boy here could never sleep through the night so he would often take to exploring the castle instead of sleeping,” Sirius says. “It was his idea for the Marauder’s Map, actually, and it was him who did all the charm work and drawings.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry stays silent as Sirius and Lupin try to convince Lily that James was the real mastermind behind the map. He’s suddenly tired. He doesn’t know how long he slept in the hospital wing but it can’t have been long if just last night was when he showed up and it’s not even breakfast yet. He thinks he might eat and find a nice chair in the staff room to curl up in. Maybe ask after some dreamless sleep to actually get some quality rest in. Madam Pomfrey would never, though, not without sitting down and asking why he wants it. It’s too easy to get addicted to dreamless sleep, she takes all the precautions she can when handing it out to students.</p><p> </p><p>They reach the staff room eventually and while there’s a bigger selection of food for the other five — six, if you include Baby Harry — there’s also a smaller plate for Harry. Just like he asked. He takes it as he sits down at the table and grabs one of the forks left for them. </p><p> </p><p>“So, Harry, we were in the hospital wing for a little bit after you showed up and we saw… a lot,” Lily says gingerly after James transfigures a chair into a crib and she lays Baby Harry down in it. The cat he thinks he recognizes is lying next to the crib, watching Baby Harry intently.</p><p> </p><p>Harry freezes in his movement to shoves food into his mouth for a second before doing just that, chewing and swallowing quickly, and saying, “Okay. And you have questions?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. A lot,” Lily says. “There’s a scar on your shoulder, looks pretty old compared to some of the other ones we saw, what is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Um, that one’s from a basilisk,” Harry says. “Second year,” he takes another bite.</p><p> </p><p>“Basilisk. Right,” Lily nods. “Okay. Your hand?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry looks at the scar on his hand. <em> I must not tell lies. </em> He never got around to asking Firenze what they actually did to her in the forest.</p><p> </p><p>“Blood quill. Fifth year,” Harry says. “Must’ve written it over a hundred times.”</p><p> </p><p>Everyone looks uneasy at the idea of Harry using a blood quill at fifteen but nobody pries.</p><p> </p><p>“And… and how exactly did you get the scar of your forehead?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry wonders if he’s going to be around long enough to see Baby Harry grow up. It’ll certainly be something to see himself without the scar. The scar is prominent on his forehead, that’s where the zig-zag shape of it actually is, but the end extends into his eyebrow and through his eye, stopping just below his nose. It’s the first thing anybody ever notices on him, even with the lightning part of it covered. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s where Voldemort hit me with the curse,” Harry says. “The first time. Last night, it’s where he would’ve hit me, or him, if I hadn’t shown up. The curse rebounded and hit him and killed him that night, marking me the Boy Who Lived and all that bullshit.”</p><p> </p><p>“Language,” Lily scolds and Harry cracks a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s why I was so panicked about Neville. If Voldemort had gone to him instead, made him the Boy Who Lived… I couldn’t live with myself knowing Neville would have to grow up with that burden. I didn’t even have to grow up around it but Neville would be taken to his grandmother, he’d still grow up in the wizarding world. I’m glad he’s still safe, and his parents.”</p><p> </p><p>Lily smiles softly, “I’m glad he’s safe too. You were quite good friends with him, y’know. We’re all in hiding so Dumbledore didn’t have too many qualms about us letting you two have play dates and such. Were you good friends with Neville when you grew up and joined the wizarding world again?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not as good of a friend as I should’ve been but we were friends,” Harry nods. “I hope it was him who actually killed Voldemort in the end. I bet it was.”</p><p> </p><p>Silence falls over them and after Harry has managed to get in a few more bites, James speaks up.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you like Quidditch?” </p><p> </p><p>Harry blinks. How long has it been since he played? Too long, he decides.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. Love it,” Harry says.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you play?” Sirius asks.</p><p> </p><p>Harry can tell he’s getting that arrogant look on his face that Hermione hates, “Course I do. Seeker.”</p><p> </p><p>“Dammit,” James says. </p><p> </p><p>Harry grins and feels the ghost of a newspaper smacking him in the back of the head for it. “Since first year.”</p><p> </p><p>They all stare at him and he laughs.</p><p> </p><p>“No way. Nobody gets onto the team in first year, it’s not even allowed,” James says.</p><p> </p><p>“Number seven. Youngest in the century,” Harry says and James huffs a laugh. </p><p> </p><p>“And you’re quite proud of that, aren’t you?” Lupin says.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the one thing I managed to accomplish myself,” Harry shrugs. “Sure, I killed Voldemort as a baby but I didn’t mean to. Plus, I’m quite a good seeker if I do say so myself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, yes, I’m sure you are,” Lupin rolls his eyes. “I never understood how people with such bad eyesight can be good at the game.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me neither,” Harry says. “I’m a firm believer in luck, mainly bad, but I’ve had a few moments of good.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that’s what being a Potter gets you,” James says.</p><p> </p><p>There’s suddenly a small cry from the crib James made and James is the first one to shoot up and make his way over. He picks up Baby Harry with an exaggerated grunt, “Good morning, Prongslet!”</p><p> </p><p>Baby Harry brightens at the sight of his father and laughs loudly when James throws him up and catches him.</p><p> </p><p>“Change his nappy and then he can get some food,” Lily tells James.</p><p> </p><p>James does what she asks and makes his way back over to the table afterward. He sits down with Baby Harry in his lap and notices that McGonagall even asked the house elves to put some baby food with the food, baby food she knows Harry likes. He grabs it with a mumbled thanks to McGonagall and opens the small jar, grabbing a spoon and starting to feed Baby Harry. </p><p> </p><p>Older Harry is having a hard time processing this. Half of his brain is telling him <em> stop, that’s you, don’t be weird </em> and the other half is screaming <em> cute baby! </em>and he doesn’t know which side to listen to. He thinks about Teddy again and he wishes he could’ve met the baby before his death.</p><p> </p><p>“Your face is conveying very conflicted feelings about your younger self,” Sirius says.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. I don’t know how to act,” Harry says. “Because part of me is like ‘oh, cute baby, I want to hold him’ and the other part is like ‘that’s you, you weirdo’ so I’m not really sure how to go about this.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not you,” James says softly. “It’s the same person but… you grew up without us, you grew up famous and in the Muggle world. He’s you but he’s not going to <em> be </em>you.”</p><p> </p><p>That seems to make Harry’s feelings sort themselves out. James is right, of course he is, and Harry doesn’t know how he didn’t realize that sooner.</p><p> </p><p>Lily notices and smiles, “And you can hold him. Just let him eat and let James burp him or he’ll puke on you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, not many people get to say they got puked on by themselves but alright,” Harry says. They all laugh.</p><p> </p><p>The cat jumps onto the table and it hits Harry so violently he almost chokes.</p><p> </p><p>“Holy shit, <em> Crookshanks </em> ?” he looks at Harry with that same look of blatant disgust he always gives Harry despite loving Harry more than Hermione and Harry laughs. “Of <em> course </em> you were my cat, of <em> course </em>Hermione adopted you, that's… Jesus Christ.”</p><p> </p><p>His name must still be Crookshanks because Harry doesn’t get corrected.</p><p> </p><p>“The fate of our cat was your best friend? That makes me a little happier when I think about our deaths,” James says.</p><p> </p><p>“He spent eleven years in the Magical Menagerie, she adopted him in our third year, but yes, he ended up with her. No wonder he always liked me more,” Harry reaches across and scratches the underside of Crookshanks’ chin like he knows the cat loves. Crookshanks starts purring immediately and Harry smiles, “You’ve got two Harry’s now, you’ll be in heaven.”</p><p> </p><p>Crookshanks sends him what can only be described as a glare and Harry laughs.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually — Harry doesn’t know how it happened — he ends up in a chair by a fireplace with Baby Harry in his arms and Crookshanks in his lap.</p><p> </p><p>It’s strangely emotional and Harry hates it.</p><p> </p><p>When he feels his eyes starting to get heavy, he passes Baby Harry off to Sirius and sets Crookshanks on the ground before he pulls his legs into the chair, letting his head fall back against it as he stares at the fire.</p><p> </p><p>“You can sleep, I can see how tired you are,” Lily tells him. “We’ll wake you up when it’s time for the Order meeting, I’m sure you’ll want to go.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I do,” Harry mumbles. “Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course. Get some sleep.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry takes his glasses off so he doesn’t wake up with indents on his face and closes his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>He falls asleep within minutes and surprisingly, nothing wakes him up.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry goes to an Order meeting and realizes how much Shit he can get done.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello. So, I'm posting this today instead of next Saturday because I realized that people are going to be more into this story than I am and I can't have it be as confusing as it is. So, that being said, I am going to clear of some of the tags.</p>
<p>Harry, when he dies in the Forbidden Forest, gets sent back in time by Death to 1981 to make his younger self's life better. He did not know this would be happening, he just thought he was gonna wake up in his time.<br/>Harry DID die, but he is alive again, just in 1981.<br/>Baby Harry is not the Boy Who Lived because Lily and James kept Voldemort away from his room that night.<br/>Peter still betrayed them and ran away but the Order was helping Lily and James fight Voldemort so Sirius never had time to run after him and get framed. Thankfully.<br/>Slytherin Harry Potter is when Baby Harry grows up.<br/>Professor Harry Potter is for Older Harry after the war is over.<br/>Older Harry is the one who gets a snake, it happens in chapter 3<br/>Baby Harry gets siblings :)<br/>Harry does not change his name, he just calls the tiny Harry a different one to make it easier<br/>Baby Harry and Older Harry aren't horcruxes anymore!<br/>And finally, obviously, there are two Harry's. The one who time-traveled and the one who gets a better life. They love each other.</p>
<p>I am going to warn you again that this is just for fun and not the best written time travel story you will come across but I hope you stick around through all my bullshit and at least get a little entertainment from it. </p>
<p>This chapter is purely an Order meeting and is a lot of Harry just explaining the Shit He Will Get Done so have fun</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Harry, darling, we need to get to the meeting.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry blinks a few times and groans quietly when he lifts his neck up. It’s stiff from how long he laid there but that just means he actually got some sleep. He rubs his eyes before putting his glasses on. He registers what Lily said but figures she doesn’t need a response as he stands up and stretches his stiff legs and arms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are we apparating or flooing?” he says, looking at them all once he finishes stretching.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re flooing, we don’t want to walk all the way outside of the wards. Can you apparate?” James says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry shrugs, “I prefer flying but you couldn’t necessarily bring a broom everywhere with you on the run, so.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You continue to impress me,” James shakes his head. “We’re going to Number 12 Grimmauld Place. I assume you know how to floo.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If you ask Molly Weasley, no, I do not, but yes,” Harry nods.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re telling us that story,” Sirius says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Harry says, earning a laugh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, they all get through the fireplace and Harry is introduced to everybody. They all make the connection between Baby Harry in Lily’s arms and Older Harry standing in front of them without needing to be told and nobody makes a big deal out of it, thankfully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>James and Lily explain the situation with Voldemort and Peter, saying some details that those who fought Voldemort with them might not know. They express their apologies — not for the first time — about thinking Lupin was the spy and he tells them — not for the first time — that he’s not angry anymore and he’s just happy that they found out who the spy was, even if it turned out to be Peter. They all had their suspicions and Lupin apologizes for even thinking it could’ve been Sirius, something the man isn’t offended by because he knows he’s barely concealing the Black Madness that every Black seems to inherit. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry explains why he’s in the past and that no, he won’t be going back to his time because he’d have to die again for that. Harry thinks that when he does die again, Death is going to hear a piece of his mind for doing something without Harry asking him to do it, but Harry decides to not mention this. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When silence falls over the room, Harry has a thought and he wonders what Dumbledore will do if he says something without asking him first. He decides a second later that he doesn’t care what Dumbledore thinks — that he doesn’t care what anyone thinks. If he’s going to be here in the past, he might as well use his knowledge to everyone’s advantage. Plus, it’s a little fuck you to the years of manipulation he’s starting to realize he went through.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My knowledge of the future, it could help,” Harry says, looking around to gauge everyone’s reactions. “I know how to defeat Voldemort, I was… so close to doing so in my time but I needed to die for it to happen. But I know how. And considering my… baby self didn’t get his chance last night, I think what I know is the only shot you have. Of course, it doesn’t stop his followers, it just stops him, so even after he’s gone the job won’t be done but it’s a big step in that direction. By the time I’m going to Hogwarts, everything should be in order. If I’m going to change the future, I want to do it right.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And you’re sure? That your knowledge can defeat him?” Alice says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I am.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Harry,” Dumbledore sits forward, “I have a feeling I know what this is.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you do. You hid this from me for seven years. I learned about this after you died, sir, I know you know,” Harry says, not hiding the bitterness in his voice. “And I’m not asking for permission to tell everyone, I’m telling you I’m going to tell them. I’m not letting this war go on longer than it should and I’m sure as hell not letting a second one start.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore sits back, “Very well.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And so, Harry launches into a detailed explanation of Voldemort’s horcruxes. He tells them how to destroy them and that he’s good to help get a hold of them and destroy them but he’s not going to defeat Voldemort. He doesn’t want to be famous again and he wants his younger self to grow up and have a somewhat normal life. Somebody else can do the defeating, he’s had enough for one lifetime.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When he finishes, silence falls over them all once more before James breaks it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not understand how this led to you dying. Why did you need to?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I was a horcrux,” Harry says quietly. “When Voldemort shot the killing curse at me the first time, it rebounded and killed him and he unknowingly made me his sixth horcrux. Technically, I wasn’t a </span>
  <em>
    <span>horcrux,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I just held a part of his soul inside of me but while I lived, he couldn’t die. This part of me is gone now, as well as my ability to speak with snakes. Maybe, I’d have to test that, I don’t see how I could unlearn a whole language like that but I digress.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And this was hidden from you for seven years?” Lily says incredulously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I only found out yesterday. My time. That was why I needed to look at Snape’s memories, he was the only one who knew and Dumbledore was dead so he couldn’t explain. Apparently, it needed to be hidden from me until the last minute or I wouldn’t have the strength to do what had to be done. Which… I understand that, at least. I barely did have the strength, I mean, I was walking to my death, but… I made it, obviously,” there’s suddenly a lump in Harry’s throat and it all hits him at once.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He died. He left behind his friends, left behind Ginny. Ginny. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ginny. </span>
  </em>
  <span>They never got to talk. He never got to tell her he loves her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There’s that silver lining I’m looking for.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The last time they kissed. Merlin, he misses her and he saw her </span>
  <em>
    <span>yesterday.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Comforting an injured girl. They never even spoke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He swallows, “Sirius, can you summon Kreacher?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sirius’ face twists in disgust, “Harry—“</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I need to speak with him. Please, just summon him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sirius sighs, “Kreacher!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There’s a pop and the elf appears behind his chair, already looking not very pleased at the sights. He starts mumbling about half-breeds and muggleborns.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kreacher,” Harry stands up and kneels in front of the elf. He looks at Harry with a look of disgust similar to Sirius’ but stops talking. “My name is Harry. You don’t know me but from where I come from, I’m your master.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kreacher looks skeptical at this, “Master Sirius is Kreacher’s master, Mr. Harry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know but I know things Sirius doesn’t,” Harry says. “You have a locket, do you not?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kreacher’s skeptical look changed into something more panicked at the mention of the locket, “Kreacher doesn’t answer to Mr. Harry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Regulus gave it to you,” Harry says and Kreacher softens considerably when heading his old master’s name. “He told you to destroy it but you can’t and since I know you don’t want to fail Regulus, I’m here to help. I know how to destroy that locket and if you give it to me, I can help you follow through with Regulus’ orders.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How does Mr. Harry know of the locket?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not from this time, Kreacher, I’m from the future. I learned all of this the same way you learned it. Had we known you and Regulus replaced the locket, we would not have tried,” Harry smiles gently. “I’m terribly sorry you had to go through what you did, Kreacher, and I truly do want to help you but I need you to give me the locket so I can do so.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mr. Harry is sure? Master Regulus would not be happy with Kreacher if he gave the locket away.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure. Let me help you, Kreacher.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a moment of consideration, Kreacher disappears and reappears a minute later with the locket in his hand. He hands it off to Harry carefully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Kreacher,” Harry stands up and sits back down at the table. Kreacher disappears but Harry knows he’ll be back later to see what the status on the locket is. Sirius looks unnerved by all the talk about his brother but wisely keeps his mouth shut. Harry stares at the locket for a second, he free hand coming up to absentmindedly rub the spot the locket left. A constant reminder of the pain they all went through. He frowns, “Ron destroyed it with the Sword of Gryffindor. But that won’t work, I haven’t killed the basilisk yet with the sword so… Fiendfyre is the only option at the moment.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You killed a basilisk while being poisoned by it?” Lily says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry shrugs, “Just a day in the life of Harry Potter. A decidedly strange one but a day, nonetheless. I don’t trust myself to control a Fiendfrye right now, somebody else will need to do it. Somebody who isn’t very emotional about the recent events, I suggest not one of us six, and preferably somebody who has casted a Fiendfyre before and knows going in that you need a level head to control it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can do it,” Moody suggests. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you cast one before?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moody nods and Harry hands the locket over. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Voldemort won’t know we’re destroying these unless somebody tells him. I suspect we can destroy the ring, the locket, and the diadem before he finds out.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why only those?” Frank asks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The cup is located in the Lestrange family vault, that’s where Bellatrix is hiding it, so we’ll need to break into Gringotts for it or attempt to convince a goblin to do something. The diary is in Lucius Malfoy’s possession and I imagine it won’t take Voldemort long to realize it's missing once we steal it,” Harry says. “I need to be the one to go get the ring.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Absolutely not,” Lily says immediately.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry grimaces, “I’m sorry, I just… don’t trust anybody else with it. The ring’s core is the Resurrection Stone and as I’m the only one here to ever actually use the stone, I’m the only person I trust with handling it. Dumbledore was the one to originally get the ring and even he couldn’t resist putting it on to try to speak with lost loved ones. Anybody who puts it on will most likely die due to the curse on it. It needs to be me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I… don’t like that,” James says slowly. “But I understand why.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry nods, “Somebody could come with me and help me break the protective wards I’m sure are around it but ultimately, I need to be the one who handles the ring. I don’t have any lost loved ones to speak with anymore, everybody I spoke with yesterday is alive again, but I know that almost everybody else has somebody they wish to make amends with or just talk to again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lily huffs, “Fine. But I’m coming with and helping with the wards. I think I’m least likely to try and do anything, too, as my family is still alive.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry nods, “Okay, you can come with. The diadem is in Hogwarts and telling you where is an entire explanation in of itself. It’s better if I just go and get it by myself.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But it’s safe to go and get, right?” Lupin says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, it’s safe,” Harry nods. He sighs a second later and brings his hand up to trace his scar, “I need to test out my Parseltongue. I can’t have possibly unlearned an entire language just because the piece of Voldemort’s soul is gone. If I can still speak to snakes, I can maybe get a hold of some basilisk venom to make this easier. I don’t want to kill her again but I might have to for this to work.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You seem entirely too forgiving to a snake that almost killed you at twelve-years-old,” James says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry cracks a smile, “She’s quite a beautiful snake, I can’t help it. Plus, basilisks are very rare and if I can convince her to help us and not kill us, it might be useful to everybody in the long run. Future potions masters especially, could you imagine?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lily furrows her eyebrows, “Harry… this basilisk isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>inside </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hogwarts, is she?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry purses his lips, “And if I said she was?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lily gasps, “Professor, surely you can’t allow a </span>
  <em>
    <span>basilisk </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be running wild in your school!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s not,” Harry quickly jumps in. “Not… right now anyway. She’s asleep, only a Parselmouth can wake her. If I get on her good side and not set her on the students, it should be fine for me to wake her up. If I can’t get on her good side, then I’ll just have to kill her with the sword again and we’ll have a weapon to destroy horcruxes anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lily’s jaw juts out, “And where is this basilisk located?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The second floor girls bathroom,” Harry says. James makes a noise of disgust and Sirius snorts. “Moaning Myrtle liked me so it shouldn’t be a problem to get inside and then I just open the Chamber and everything might go according to plan. Hopefully.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The Chamber,” Lupin deadpans. “Of Secrets? Because now I’m worried.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry rolls his eyes, “Yes, the Chamber of Secrets. You forget you’re talking to the kid who almost died inside of it so… anyway, believe me or not, I’ve got a plan and I stopped caring about people’s authority a year ago so bite me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s Lily,” Lupin nods. “I was wondering when I’d see her personality.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry smirks, “Now, the diary and the cup are where it gets more complicated. The cup, as I said, is in Gringotts and my plan before was just to break in. I rode a dragon, it was cool, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a good idea to do that this time around so we’ll come back to that. Malfoy has the diary and I’m sure it’s hidden away somewhere in Malfoy Manor. That’s something I can’t help with because I don’t know the details of the manor and I’m not very keen on going back there anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why not?” James asks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I was held prisoner in the manor and listened to my best friend get tortured by Bellatrix above me so I’d much prefer to keep my distance,” Harry nods and James does too. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to threaten Malfoy to give up its location but they do have a son and I’m not too fond of the idea of putting Mrs. Malfoy in danger. If we can get the diary without harming them, unintentionally or not, I’d like that idea to be used. I don’t care for Lucius but I will be angry if Draco or Mrs. Malfoy get hurt.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Were you… friends with Draco Malfoy or something?” Sirius raises an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“God no, we hated each other, but him and his mother were on the wrong side of the war, dragged there by Lucius and it doesn’t sit right with me to have them suffer again because of him,” Harry says. “Plus, Lucius Malfoy almost killed the girl I fell in love with so I think he could do with a hex or two.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>James grins but doesn’t ask about Ginny, deciding that should be a conversation for when they’re holed up in the staff room again and not during an Order meeting. “Lucius Malfoy definitely deserves a hex or two and if he ends up with that, it wasn’t me. Draco and Narcissa won’t be hurt.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can help with the diary, I suppose,” Sirius says. “Andy’s my favorite but Cissa was quite fond of me, much to her dismay. It might be easier to have her convince Malfoy to give it up.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever works,” Harry says. “I’ve not the slightest idea what to do about the cup, though.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Goblins, however horrible they may be, can be bargained with,” Frank says. “I know Gobbledegook and all of their traditions and etiquette. I can ask after the account manager for the Lestrange vault and try and convince him to bring me the cup himself for a certain price or favor.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t like the idea of taking a favor for a goblin,” Alice shakes her head. “You’ve quite a lot of money in that vault your father gave you in his will, right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can use that money,” Frank nods. “He’d proud to know I’m doing something so stupid with his money.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Alice smiles, “Lets not let Augusta know, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Frank laughs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, that’s it,” Harry says. “There’s no more horcruxes, thankfully. Moody can destroy the locket, I’ll get the diadem and the ring and see what I can do about the basilisk, Sirius and Dad can go to Malfoy, and Mr. Longbottom goes to Gringotts. Any objections? Good, I won’t listen anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You are contradicting your claim of being more like James so hard every time you speak,” Lupin says. “You’re very smart, Harry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m book smart, Lupin,” Harry flashes a smile at the man. “I can do magic very well and I’m very powerful and I’m good at my classes but I’m extremely stupid when it comes to literally anything else.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, like Lily?” Sirius says, earning a smack on his arm and a mean glare from the woman in question.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Harry, why do you keep referring to me by my last name? You can call me Remus,” Lupin says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry. You were my professor in my third year and since I really didn’t remember you from my first year of life, I got used to calling you Lupin,”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harry says. “Even after I found out and we got closer. It’s a respect thing, really, you were my favorite DADA professor out of the six I was around for.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Lupin scrunches his nose up. “I guess that old trunk finally got some use then. Six professors, though, meaning you’ve been on the run your entire seventh year?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry nods, “The professors this year were Alecto and Amycus Carrow, two Death Eaters, since Voldemort took over Hogwarts, so I physically could not come back without being arrested or killed. Plus, I had to hunt down horcruxes so I figured that was a little more important than my schooling.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know the Death Eaters by name?” Moody says. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I do,” Harry says. “Some of them, at least. I know that Lucius Malfoy managed to convince the ministry that he was being </span>
  <em>
    <span>Imperious</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ed after I defeated Voldemort the first time and I’ve no doubt he’ll try again after we defeat him now so just mark him down, don’t let that happen.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think you have more pressing matters at the moment, Moody,” Kingsley says. “We can get a list later, it’ll only matter after the war ends anyway. Destroy that locket and then talk to Potter, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There’s silence for only a few seconds before Harry suddenly jerks and feels the pockets of his jeans.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What have you lost?” Lily says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The,” Harry takes a wand — </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>wand — out of his back pocket and frowns before continuing to speak. “My cloak. Did Madam Pomfrey take it so I couldn’t cause trouble or did I not have it when I showed up? I was sure I put it in my pocket before he killed me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Your cloak,” Lily says slowly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Invisibility Cloak,” Harry clarifies.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Lily nods. “I think Madam Pomfrey took it, we can go ask once we get back to the castle.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why are you frowning at your wand?” James says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry jumps and looks at James and then back at the wand, “Well… it’s mine. My wand broke after a battle in Godric’s Hollow but it seems that Death has gifted me with my repaired wand. It’s not a sad frown, I was just confused. I’m quite happy to have my wand back.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Battle in Godric’s Hollow?” Lily says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I was visiting your graves on Christmas Eve. Not a happy reason to be there and it turned out worse because we were ambushed but,” Harry pauses and then shakes his head. “I got quite good at some different charms and such wandlessly so that was an upside.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You said you were magically powerful, Harry, and obviously that’s something if you know it, and I’m wondering,” Kingsley sits forward, “can you cast a corporeal patronus? If you’re going to be as valuable an asset to the Order as you’ve already proven to be, that’s quite essential.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can, yes,” Harry nods. “Do you need me to stand up and prove it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Could you?” Moody cuts in now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harry nods again and stands up. He grips his wand, something he hasn’t done is so long he almost forgot what it felt like, and thinks about something happy. The time where Ginny indulged his behind-the-tapestry-in-the-corridor fantasy comes up and he smirks before focusing and saying firmly, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Expecto Patronum.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Out of the end of his wand bursts the familiar white stag he’s taken to calling Prongs and he smiles. Prongs trots around him happily and even bumps his antlers against Harry’s cheek before he notices the Baby Harry and floats over, looking down at him. Baby Harry giggles and reaches out for him, saying, “Pwongs!” and Harry feels his heart melt. He’s an absolutely adorable baby and he loves it. ‘Pwongs’ continues entertaining Baby Harry, obviously recognizing the tiny human as the older human who he loves, for a few seconds before Harry moves to call him back in.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Leave him,” Lily says, smiling softly. “Harry’s always loved playing with our patronuses.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry feels a pang in his heart because he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>that baby playing with a patronus at one point. He’s glad this Harry can be that baby.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry sits back down, setting his wand on the table.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“When did you learn that?” Lupin says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry smiles, “Third year. You taught me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lupin mirrors the smile, “And you produced a corporeal patronus in your third year? Harry, that’s extremely impressive. It’s impressive what you’re doing now — you’re barely focusing on keeping the charm up but it’s as vibrant as ever.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry looks back at Prongs, who is now pretending to lick Baby Harry, and his smile softens, “It’s all thanks to you, Lupin. And my fear of dementors and a Boggart but that’s besides the point.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lupin huffs a laugh, “You are certainly something, Harry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry shrugs, “What can I say? It’s not everyday a baby defeats the Dark Lord.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He can practically feel Hermione’s smack through time itself. Her mother had taught her to never boast or be arrogant about something and though she did all the time, whenever Harry or Ron did it, it was a smack on the head with a newspaper or her hand. Harry kind of misses it, if he’s being honest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His words earn a laugh from pretty much everybody.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We have the horcrux situation figured out and I know you have the schedule figured out so is there anything else anybody would like to say before we end this meeting?” Dumbledore asks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everybody stays silent.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then we’ll be off,” Dumbledore stands up. “I’ll send a patronus for the next meeting. Have a good day everyone.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Lots of dialogue and not a lot of emotions. This becomes a pattern in my writing, you'll come to find out.<br/>Chapter 3 will be posted on June 20th! I just posted this one to clear up some confusion about the tags. And also cause more confusion because my writing is Subpar, as previously mentioned.<br/>ANYWAY<br/>comments and kudos give me life<br/>I hope you all have an amazing day/night &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry gets a new pet, bullshits his way through a conversation, and destroys a horcrux.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I like this chapter but do be warned, it's a lot of dialogue. Not very different from the other two chapters but still. And a lot of italics. Next chapter will be posted on Saturday, June 27th. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Good news,” Harry announces as he slips the cloak off and throws it onto his chair — the one he claimed would be his for the remaining time they spent locked up in the staff room. “I found the diadem.”</p><p> </p><p>He holds it up to show them. Moody had floo-called earlier to inform them that he destroyed the locket without burning anything down and Harry had immediately set off to the Room or Requirement to find the diadem afterward. It wasn’t hard to find, thankfully, because if Harry spent any more time there he thinks he might’ve started to really panic. All he could think about while looking for the diadem was Crabbe and how he couldn’t save him. He managed, though, and found it without much trouble.</p><p> </p><p>“Awesome,” Lily says. “Think you’re up for testing that Parseltongue?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry walks over and sets the diadem on the table, “Try not to conjure a venomous snake. Just a garden one will be fine.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll try,” Lily pulls out her wand and points it at the ground. “Ready?”</p><p> </p><p><em> “ </em>Go for it.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Serpensortia.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>A ball python shoots out of her wand and Lily curses quietly. It looks around confusedly and James totally doesn’t shriek and fall into Sirius’ waiting arms. Harry fights the urge to laugh as he crouches down and tries to speak to it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Hello.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The snake looks over and Harry mentally cheers. He knew he couldn’t have unlearned it. It slithers over and looks at him curiously, <em>“A speaker?”</em></p><p> </p><p>Harry smiles, <em>“Yes. Hello. My name is Harry.”</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Harry. Where am I, Harry?”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“You’re in Hogwarts. My mother conjured you.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The snake looks at Lily and then back at Harry, <em>“Tell her I say thank you.”</em></p><p> </p><p>“She says thank you for conjuring her,” Harry says.</p><p> </p><p>Lily tilts her head, “She’s welcome?”</p><p> </p><p><em>“So, Harry, you speak?”</em> the snake slithers closer and Harry holds out his arm. She slides onto his hand and James makes a gagging noise that has Sirius and Remus snickering. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I do. I’m very glad I do, I can now make friends with snakes like you. And talk to dragons, how cool is that?”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The snake looks at him with a look Harry can only describe as amusement, <em>“Very. You aren’t going to get rid of me, are you?”</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Not if you don’t want me to.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I’d rather stay with you, Harry.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Harry grins, <em>“What do I call you, then?”</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“You decide.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Harry hums, standing up, <em>“What about Cliodna? I have a thing for naming my pets after famous witches.”</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Cliodna. That’s perfect, Harry.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Harry’s smile softens. It’ll be nice to have a pet again. He misses Hedwig fiercely and it was something Ron and Hermione never understood. They didn’t truly know the pain of losing a pet — considering Ron wasn’t very fond of his pet that turned out to be a fully grown man. And considering his rat turned out to be a fully grown man, he never wanted to mourn it anyway because he knew it didn’t deserve to be mourned — and they couldn’t understand why it affected Harry so deeply. It’ll just be nice to have something to keep him company like Hedwig did during those lonely summers.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry to say, Dad, but she wants me to keep her,” Harry says and James groans. “I’ve already named her, no take-backsies.”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s her name?” James says miserably.</p><p> </p><p>“Cliodna. I have a thing for naming my pets after famous witches,” Harry looks down at Cliodna — he thinks Clio sounds better and decides to go by that instead — as she slides up his arm and around his shoulders. <em>“I’m sorry, Clio, but I have some more work to do. Do you mind curling up in my chair and waiting for me to get back?” </em></p><p> </p><p><em> “Of course not, Harry,”</em> Clio says.</p><p> </p><p>Harry walks her over to the chair and she slides off of him and onto it as he grabs his cloak once more, “Now that we tested that, I’m going to go open the Chamber. If I can get the basilisk to voluntarily give up her venom, it’ll make everything easier. If it works, I’ll destroy the diadem when I get back but if not, we’ll just send it off to Moody for him to Fiendfyre it like the locket. After I talk to her and figure out the diadem, we can head out to get the ring.”</p><p> </p><p>Lily nods, “Sounds good. Be careful, darling, this is still a very venomous snake you’re dealing with. Remember — don’t look her in the eye.”</p><p> </p><p>Harry smiles softly, “I’ll be okay, Mum.” </p><p> </p><p>Lily tries to hide how happy the word makes her but Harry can tell, just like he knew James was happy when Harry called him Dad in the meeting. </p><p> </p><p>“Try not to let Crookshanks eat my new snake, yeah?”</p><p> </p><p>“No promises,” James says dryly.</p><p> </p><p>Harry slips the cloak on and pulls the hood up, walking across the room to the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Have a safe trip, Prongslet,” Sirius says and Harry is glad they can’t see his grin. He quickly ducks out the door and starts on his way to Myrtle’s bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>The bell rings when he’s halfway there and Harry, caught up in trying to calm his thundering heart at the noise he hasn’t heard in so long, doesn’t have time to dive into a classroom before the corridor he’s in floods with students making their way to lunch. He manages to weave in and out of the students but, unfortunately, also manages to ram straight into a professor. Luckily, it’s Professor Flitwick. Unluckily, the tiny man topples over before Harry can catch him and starts looking around wildly for the student that just bumped into him to scold them.</p><p> </p><p>He stands up and dusts himself off and when the corridor finally clears, Harry uncovers his head and apologizes.</p><p> </p><p>Flitwick looks at him with wide eyes, “Mr. Potter? No, no… who are you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Harry Potter, sir,” Harry says. “Professor Dumbledore knows I’m here, don’t worry, but if you could not mention me to the other professors, that’d be wonderful.”</p><p> </p><p>Recognition flashes across his eyes and he must’ve made the connection between Baby Harry and Older Harry. He doesn’t make a fuss, thankfully, and instead says, “Where are you headed, Mr. Potter?”</p><p> </p><p>“The second floor. Professor Dumbledore also knows about this, don’t worry,” Harry smiles. “I realize I could’ve just stayed silent but I would’ve felt bad if I didn’t apologize. Again, I’m terribly sorry. I’ll let you get to lunch now, Professor.”</p><p> </p><p>Flitwick straightens his robes again, “Yes, very well, Mr. Potter. Do send your mother my best wishes, she was my—“</p><p> </p><p>“Favorite student, you’ve told me before,” Harry grins and Flitwick returns the smiles. “I will. Perhaps I’ll see you later, Professor.”</p><p> </p><p>“Perhaps,” Flitwick walks around Harry and Harry pulls the cloak up again.</p><p> </p><p>He makes it to the bathroom with no more interruptions and Myrtle shrieks when the door opens and she sees nothing.</p><p> </p><p>“James Potter, you take that Invisibility Cloak off! What have I told you about coming into <em> my </em>bathroom with it on?” her loud, shrill voice screeches.</p><p> </p><p>Harry tugs the cloak off his shoulders, “It’s not James, Myrtle, I’m his son. He comes here often?” He folds the cloak up and shoves it into his back pocket.</p><p> </p><p>Myrtle stares at him for a few seconds before sighing dramatically, “He used to. All he did was complain about that Lily girl! Or-Or he just sat on the floor there to do his <em> homework </em> or <em> read his books!</em> He didn’t even care to talk to me!”</p><p> </p><p>Harry fights a smirk and files that away for later teasing, “Well, I’m not here to do any of those things.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrtle lowers herself to look at Harry skeptically, “Then what are you doing here, Potter?”</p><p> </p><p>“I was hoping to get to that sink over there. And my name’s Harry, by the way,” Harry points are the sink.</p><p> </p><p>Myrtle swings around, <em>“That </em>sink? I hardly think you need to get to it.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s actually quite important, you see—“</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t care how important you think it is,<em> Harry,</em> this is <em>my  </em>bathroom and I don’t think I want you in here anymore,” Myrtle places her hands on her hips, trying to look intimidating. Harry wonders how he managed to get Myrtle to like him the last time but only comes up with his looks and his inability to be mean to anything undeserving of it as a twelve-year-old. He remembers her seeing him naked and terribly attempting to woo him and almost grimaces. Maybe she deserves it a little bit, but he pushes that away quickly.</p><p> </p><p>“I know you aren’t too keen to have me go over there but Myrtle, it really is important,” Harry says. “I… I don’t have any intentions to hurt anybody, this is simply for the purpose of helping some people.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrtle’s lip curls up and she crosses her arms, “How do I know you’re not lying?”</p><p> </p><p>“My family is in the castle right now, Myrtle, and the last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt them,” Harry says. “But I guess if you don’t want me here—“</p><p> </p><p>“James? Here in the castle?” Myrtle floats closer, her nose almost passing through Harry’s. “Where?”</p><p> </p><p>Harry grins and thinks he might look a little evil, “I’ll tell you if you promise not to spread it around the school. Nobody can know we’re here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Deal. Where?”</p><p> </p><p>He’s in for an earful when he gets back. “The staff room.”</p><p> </p><p>“The sink’s all yours, Harry,” Myrtle speeds off and Harry takes a second to laugh at the horror he can imagine James feeling when Myrtle enters the staff room. </p><p> </p><p>He shakes his head and walks over to the sink with a snake carved into the side, clearing his throat. <em>“Open up.”</em></p><p> </p><p>The sink drops to reveal the pipe leading down to the Chamber and Harry stares at it dreadfully before sighing and crouching down, placing his legs inside of it. “You know cleaning charms, Harry,” he reminds himself. “You know cleaning charms,” he mutters one more time before sliding forward and cursing loudly when he shoots off. He squeezes his eyes shut and only opens them when he’s sure he has his footing on the bones below him.</p><p> </p><p>He does grimace this time as he walks through the passage leading to the actual Chamber. He realizes how long it’s been since he’s properly showered and cringes, suddenly well aware of the grime caked on his skin and in his hair. He might ask Dumbledore if he can use the showers down in the Quidditch locker rooms because now that he’s noticed, it’s all he can do to keep himself from clawing at his skin to maybe get rid of the grime. Years of not being allowed showers longer than five minutes every few weeks at the Dursleys made him quite the germophobe, much to Hermione and Ron’s dismay upon learning this, and camping had been torture enough but knowing that showers are just out of reach is worse by far. </p><p> </p><p>He finally emerges into the actual Chamber and shudders at the memories. If he stares hard enough at the spot in front of Slytherin’s statue, he can see Ginny’s almost lifeless body lying there. He shakes his head and walks further, stopping a little ways away from the statue to give the basilisk room to come out fully.</p><p> </p><p>He clears his throat again, barely remembering what the book he read about basilisks in the Black Library said about speaking to them as he starts talking straight of his ass, <em>“Slytherin’s great basilisk,”</em> he hears the ghost of Ron’s snort before he hears the real life sound of slithering, <em>“my name is Harry Potter and I have come to speak to you. Can you please shut your inner lids so we may speak face to face?” </em></p><p> </p><p>He shuts his eyes and almost flinches when, a few moments later, he hears,<em> “You may open your eyes, human, you are safe.” </em></p><p> </p><p>Harry opens his eyes and comes face to face with the creature that almost took his life all those years ago. She’s just as terrifyingly beautiful as the first time Harry saw her but this time, she isn’t trying to kill him. He smiles.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I’ve not met a speaker in a long time. Are you the heir?”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>His smile falls, <em>“No. I gained my Parseltongue ability elsewhere. What’s your name?”</em></p><p> </p><p>Her tail flicks happily and the smile returns, <em>“Kailani, Master. What do you require me to do?”</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Just Harry is fine. Are you hungry, Kailani?”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Kailani tilts her head slightly, <em>“Why, of course. I haven’t had more than small mice for decades.”</em></p><p> </p><p><em>“I have a proposition to make. I shall allow you to exit to the forest and hunt to your heart’s content but in exchange, you allow potions masters and a few others to use your skin, venom, and fangs when needed. How does that sound?”</em> Harry has absolutely no idea what he’s doing but if he bullshitted his way through his Divination classes and exam and managed to pass both, he can surely bullshit his way through a conversation with an ancient basilisk. </p><p> </p><p>Kailani narrows her eyes, <em>“How do </em>you <em>wish to use my skin, venom, and fangs, Harry?”</em></p><p> </p><p><em>“I’ll only be needing some fangs, Kailani. I have some important business concerning myself and lots of others and it’s the venom on your fang that will make all the difference. I’ll also have you promise to not harm the students or teachers when I let you out to hunt,” </em>Harry says. Ron would be proud of his bullshit formality.</p><p> </p><p>Kailani ponders the offer for a moment before finally saying, <em>“Very well, Harry. You are very kind to offer this, it is only fair you get something in return.”</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Thank you, Kailani. I’ll inform the potions master and I hope you won’t be alarmed when they makes their way down here to collect your skin or venom. I’ll only require a few fangs for now.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Of course. I believe the Heir before you made a pile somewhere around here but I never bothered to watch his antics while he was down here. Quite an interesting boy, that one, I wonder what came of him.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Harry swallows and decides not to answer that, instead opening the exit to the forest and informing Kailani that she should only go out at night where she won’t be at risk of being seen. She agrees and curls up, allowing Harry to walk around the Chamber in search of the pile of fangs.</p><p> </p><p>He finds them in a corner not lit by the torches and gathers some into his arms, turning back to Kailani, <em>“I’ll be returning now. It was very nice to meet you, Kailani. I do not know when we’ll speak again but I wish you well.” </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“And you as well, Harry. Thank you for your kindness, I will certainly never forget it.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Harry smiles and makes his way back through the passageway, out of the Chamber, and back into Myrtle’s bathroom. He carefully places his cloak over his shoulders and head again, clutching the fangs tightly to his chest as he leaves the bathroom and starts on his way back to the staff room.</p><p> </p><p>James is glaring furiously at him when he enters and he doesn’t even hide the absolutely evil laugh he lets out as he throws his cloak on the ground next to his chair, mindful of the snoozing snake on the cushion.</p><p> </p><p>“You are a menace!” James hisses. “I have had peace for <em> four years! </em> Four years!”</p><p> </p><p>Harry walks over to the table and carefully sets the fangs on it, taking the diadem into his hand and examining it as he responds, “It was the only way she’d allow me to get to the sink. And mind you, <em> she’s </em>the one who told me you frequented her bathroom to do your homework, read, or complain about Mum.”</p><p> </p><p>Lily and Sirius let out an almost identical bark of laughter and Harry smirks.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah, he’s <em>your </em>son,” Lily says and James lets out a miserable groan. “Never have I met a man so skilled at blackmailing people. James had people lined up to do his bidding for days. Still does, if I’m not mistaken.”</p><p> </p><p><em>“Anyway,” </em>Lupin says, rolling his eyes, “I see you succeeded with the basilisk.”</p><p> </p><p>“I did,” Harry sets the diadem down. “Her name is Kailani. She thought I was very kind to allow her to hunt in the forest in exchange for her skin, venom, and fangs. I’ll have to talk to Slughorn, unfortunately. Maybe Snape, I think he starts next year, also unfortunately. Anyway, I’ll destroy the diadem and we can go get the ring.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do we need to like, step back? How does destroying it work?” Sirius says.</p><p> </p><p>“You might want to cover your ears but I think you’ll be fine,” Harry says. He picks up a fang, “I’ll stab the jewel. When I do so, the soul inside will begin to die and souls don’t like dying, so they start to scream. It’s not pleasant and I imagine tiny me over there won’t take kindly to it and neither will Crookshanks.”</p><p> </p><p>Lily walks over to Baby Harry, who is playing with a stuffed dragon while Crookshanks watches lazily, and picks him up out of the crib James transfigured. She takes her wand out and mutters some spell Harry can’t hear and Baby Harry looks around wildly, most likely trying to figure out why his hearing suddenly disappeared. She casts the same spell on Crookshanks.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, you’re good,” Lily nods.</p><p> </p><p>Harry returns the nod and takes the diadem in his hand. He places the tip of the fang on the jewel and pushes hard. The jewel cracks and he barely flinches at the sound of the soul screaming, his mind used to it after hearing it five times, however long ago the first time may have been. The others do, though, and Sirius covers his ears. Lupin lasts a second longer than Sirius before he too covers his ears with a wince. James shares a grimace with Lily and almost as quickly as it started, it stops. </p><p> </p><p>Harry lets out a breath, letting the two items fall out of his hands and onto the table.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright. Two down, three to go.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>harry is Getting Shit Done and we love him for it<br/>comments and kudos give me life<br/>i hope you have a good day/night &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Three more horcruxes go and Harry talks about his feelings for a moment.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I told y'all it would be fast paced lmao. The next chapter will be posted on Saturday, July 4th! Also, I'm warning you, I'm not sure if I'll have another chapter written by the time I post chapter 8 because, unsurprisingly, I'm sorta kinda running out of ideas and also sorta kinda focusing on the other story I posted a few days ago so :/ I'm very sorry and I will try to keep posting but it might get inconsistent after chapter 8. And also, please tell me if I need to put any trigger warnings! I don't wanna be that person and since not much stuff triggers me, I'm never sure when I should put warnings so if you see something, please please tell me! Thank you and I love you!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Lily steps back and wipes her forehead, “I’ve never… in all my life… seen something so protected,” she shakes her head. “You should be good to grab it, Harry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry nods, stepping forward and gingerly reaching for the ring. When he clasps it and doesn’t get a nasty shock and no boils start to appear, he grins and snatches it quickly, “Brilliant.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lily watches as he takes the basilisk fang out of his jacket and moves to an open area of the ruined shack. He points the ring at himself and pierces the core with the fang. Lily grimaces at the screech it lets out and Harry presses his lips together. When the screaming stops, he lets out a breath and pries the stone out of the ring. The metal falls to the ground and he kicks it to the side, pocketing the Resurrection Stone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,” Harry turns to Lily. “Two more. I’ve accomplished in one day what we spent a year doing but it’s okay, I’m not bitter at all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lily huffs a laugh, “C’mon. Let's get back. I think you need a shower.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry winces, “Don’t remind me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They clasp hands and apparate out of the ruined Gaunt shack and back to Hogwarts. Once inside the wards, Lily practically shoves Harry across the grounds and to the Quidditch Pitch. Harry’s missed it more than he’d ever admit and considering it was up in flames the last time he saw it, it’s like a breath of fresh air to see it fully intact. He wishes he could get everyone out to play a game but there’s much more important things to worry about than playing a Quidditch match with his family.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll conjure you some clothes, just get in there. It’s almost painful watching you try to deal with it,” Lily says. “We’ll burn your clothes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds like a plan,” Harry mumbles.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He heads into the locker room and quickly strips, laying the stone, his Invisibility Cloak, and his wand next to his clothes carefully before stepping into the showers and turning them on. He sighs and stands under the stream of water for a moment before starting to actually clean himself off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It must be an hour or two later when he finally feels satisfied enough and turns the shower off. Taking the place of his previously disgusting clothes are newly conjured ones that he quickly changes into once he’s dry. They look exactly like something James would wear and Harry wonders if Lily did that on purpose. He shoves the stone, his wand, and the cloak into his pockets before exiting the locker room to find Lily entertaining herself with shooting sparks from her wand. She jumps up when Harry appears, “Good?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Spectacular,” Harry says. They start on the walk back up to the castle. “I forgot what it feels like to actually be clean. It was torture, not being able to properly bathe this past year. I think I can finally admit how big of a germophobe I am.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lily chuckles, “Well, you have access to a shower now so there’s no more excuse. I’m shoving James and Sirius straight into one when they get back from Malfoy’s tomorrow. I might ask Dumbledore if I can give Harry a bath in the Prefect’s bathroom.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Only the best for a king,” Harry grins and Lily rolls her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They make it back to the staff room just as curfew settles in. Baby Harry is asleep in his crib and Lupin and Sirius are also asleep. Lupin is in the armchair across from Harry’s, Padfoot in his lap snoozing away. Clio is slithering around the small coffee table happily while James plays with a plate, transfiguring it into different things.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How’d it go?” he asks quietly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good. Mum got rid of the wards and I destroyed it,” Harry says. He allows Clio to slide onto his shoulders and his wand joins the two already resting on the small table. He sets his cloak on the coffee table too and sits down, pulling the stone out and looking at it. “I’ve not the slightest clue what to do with this.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dumbledore?” James suggests.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry sighs, “The last owner of this stone went mad with grief. Dumbledore has already come close to doing just that </span>
  <em>
    <span>without </span>
  </em>
  <span>the stone. I know it seems like a nice thing to do, giving it to someone to let them make amends or speak with lost loved ones, but it’s torture. They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>right there</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and it almost seems like they’re really there, but… you can’t touch them, only talk to them and that’s the torture of it. The thing that drove Peverell mad. I think… I need to keep it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“When did you use the stone, Harry?” Lily asks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry looks up at them, taking his eyes off the stone, “Two days ago. In the forest. I called you four up. The forest was crawling with dementors and I… couldn’t do it. I wasn’t strong enough. But I talked to you and you all gave me the strength to walk through that forest. Dad told me you’d be with me until the very end and I woke up here. It’s pretty ironic.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>James smiles softly, “Well, I’ll stay true to my word.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry clenches his fist around the stone and blinks away the tears in his eyes, “You better.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>James chuckles, “Get some sleep, Harry. We’ll wake you up when we’re about to leave for Malfoy’s.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry puts the stone back into his pocket, “You get some sleep too. You haven’t slept since we got here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>James shrugs, “I’ll be fine.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“James,” Lily says firmly, “listen to your son. You need sleep.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry brings his hand up and lights strokes Clio before settling back into his chair. James argues for a minute longer before Lily marches over to his chair, drops onto his lap and tangles herself around him, going limp almost immediately. James sighs, looking like he’s too used to this happening, and gives in only a few minutes later, taking his glasses off and wrapping his own arms around her, resting his head on her’s, and closing his eyes. Harry, happy with the sight, takes his own glasses off and closes his eyes as well. In the quiet of the room, he doesn’t have much trouble falling asleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next morning, at around ten am, James and Sirius head out to see about getting the diary from Malfoy. Frank makes his way to Gringotts not long after that. Lupin has taken to pacing, his nerves skyrocketed from having his best friends doing something dangerous and with the full moon drawing closer, he’s getting more and more restless. Lily is entertaining herself with Baby Harry, trying not to think about her husband and Sirius or Frank. Harry is silently wallowing in his guilt of having left everybody behind and also having been the cause of so many deaths to worry about the three.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s when Harry is a hair away from snapping and yelling at Lupin to get some of his pent up anger out that the door opens and James and Sirius stumble in under Harry’s Invisibility Cloak, having not been sneaky enough to grab James’ from Dumbledore when they were in his office. They don’t seem hurt, thankfully, and Harry can barely be worried about that when James holds up the diary after taking the cloak off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t put up much of a fight,” James boasts as Harry jumps up and runs over. “Malfoy’s quite the coward, actually.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No surprise there,” Harry takes the diary and opens it, smiling when he sees the empty pages. He’s almost tempted to write to Tom just to taunt him but decides it’s better to just destroy it before anything gets out of hand. “Are you hurt?” he asks belatedly, earning a snort from Sirius.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re fine,” Sirius says. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Draco and Mrs. Malfoy?” Harry looks at them and not the diary.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re good,” James nods. “Harry, I thought you said that was a diary. Why is it empty, then?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You write in it, Tom Riddle writes back,” Harry walks over to the end of the table where the basilisk fangs are and picks one up. “Ginny got a hold of the diary in her first year, thanks to Malfoy, and Riddle manipulated her and controlled her into setting the basilisk on Muggleborns. When I went down in the Chamber, Ginny was almost dead. It all happened so fast but I was sure, after I stabbed the diary with the fang that was slowly poisoning me, that I was going to die next to her but it was Fawkes who saved me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ginny — the girl you fell in love with?” James says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Ginny is the girl I fell in love with,” Harry sets the diary in the center of the table. “This is going to get ink everywhere and it’s not going to sound pretty.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Already casted the spell on Harry and Crookshanks. Do it, we can clean the ink up easily,” Lily says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry nods and in a less dramatic movement than what he did the first time, brings his arm down quickly. The fang stabs the journal and, just like before, ink starts spewing everywhere and it starts screaming. It’s the screech of the other horcruxes this time, though, not the scream of sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle. When it’s over, the ink covering Harry disappears quickly, as well as the ink covering the table. The diary is placed with the destroyed diadem, the spell is taken off Baby Harry and Crookshanks, and they all settle into chairs, waiting for Frank to finish bribing the goblins for the cup. Harry’s anger has died down and he’s honestly scared for when it finally boils over.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They fall into a bated silence and Harry is wondering who will be the first to break it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s James, unsurprisingly, though his question isn’t a stupid one.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you find out?” his voice is quiet and he’s looking at the fire. “I understand that you looked at his memories but there’s no way that was the moment.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry blinks, his hand coming up to rub at his stubble -- he should really shave, it's almost an actual beard now -- and it earns a few licks from Clio in the process. “You mean me having to die? Because I’ve known about Voldemort being a part of me, I’ve known for a long time but it was a few days ago that I found out what that meant.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, it was the memory that told you that you had to die?” James looks at him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The memory confirmed it,” Harry nods. “But I knew. I heard the prophecy when I was fifteen… I knew one of us had to die and I knew it had to be me but, up until that point, I was trying to convince myself that it wasn’t true, that I wouldn’t have to die. The memory just… told me what I didn’t want to hear.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Harry,” Lily says, her voice sounding thick. “Why did you have your cloak on you? Why did you wear it to the forest?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry swallows, “Because I knew I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I went and said goodbye. They all knew Voldemort was expecting me and they all knew I wasn’t going to go, so I didn’t want to have to look any of them in the eye and tell them that I’m giving myself up. I bumped into Neville and told him about Nagini and he knew. He knew I was going, despite what I told him, but he didn’t stop me because he knew I wouldn’t do it without a reason. I think he knew I had to die. He’s smarter than we ever gave him credit for.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You think it was Neville who killed him?” Sirius says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry nods, “Definitely. He’s powerful, whether he or anybody wants to admit it or not. He, Ron, and Hermione were the only ones who knew about Nagini, so it only makes sense that it would be one of them and, to me, it makes the most sense that it be Neville.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think,” Remus says softly, sitting forward slightly, “that you need to stop blaming yourself. I can tell you’re doing it. You’re friends wouldn’t have fought in a war </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>for you, Harry, they were doing it for everybody. Nobody died because of you, stop thinking they did.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry sighs and runs a hand through his hair, “You don’t understand, Lupin, people </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>die because of me. People got hurt and people died all for me. And I repay them by dying and leaving them. I left my godson behind, Lupin. He’s going to grow up without parents or a godfather just like I did. He has his grandmother but </span>
  <em>
    <span>still.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t ask for them to put their lives on the line for you, they did that themselves,” Lupin says, sounding all too understanding thanks to a similar situation concerning himself and three boys. “It’s only your fault when it’s you who killed them. And your godson? He’s going to grow up hearing story after story about his godfather, the good ones and the bad ones. He’ll see pictures and he’ll see your friends and when he’s old enough, he’ll understand why you died, why his parents died. You’ve not left him behind, Harry. You made the world a better place for him to live in and he’ll understand that one day. He won’t be angry. If anything, he’ll be proud you were his godfather and he’ll be proud of his parents.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry looks at the fire, ignoring the tears threatening to fall. He’s right, just like he was three days ago when he said the same thing, and as much as Harry wants to argue, he knows he shouldn’t.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Who were his parents?” Lily whispers. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This earns a wet laugh from Harry and he quickly reaches up and wipes his eyes, “Same guy who just gave me a pep talk, who else?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lupin smiles, “Glad to know I got over my fear. Makes me wonder who his grandmother is, though, seeing as my mother is dead.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Who else but Sirius’ favorite cousin?” Harry raises his eyebrows.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sirius chokes, “No! You’re kidding! My Moony, this precious man right here, marries my eight-year-old cousin?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry grimaces, “Well, she was twenty-four when it happened, don’t make it sound like he married a child.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lupin nods a little bit, “I can already guess how hard it was for her to convince me to even hug her, so I apologize for making you go through that pain.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I wasn’t around to watch it all develop,” Harry says. “But yes, many fights were held over your reluctance to be with her and I did hear some of them but it all worked out in the end. Andromeda’s going to raise Teddy well, I know she will, but I just wish I was around to help.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sirius huffs, “Well, you’ll be around when we eventually have a kid so don’t fret too much.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry’s lip quirks, “Can’t wait.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As if that’s his cue, the fireplace roars to life and Frank stumbles out, only barely missing the coffee table as he steadies himself. He clears his throat and dusts the soot off of himself before holding Hufflepuff’s Cup out toward Harry, “I just emptied my father’s vault down to one knut for this damn thing, I can feel him rolling in his grave right now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry fights to keep the amusement off his face as he takes the cup, and says in a tone he just knows would make Dumbledore’s eye twitch, “It’s for the greater good, Mr. Longbottom.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Frank scoffs, “Greater good, my arse. Grindelwald would be proud, Harry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry laughs, “I’ve only ever gotten one other person to say something like that, thank you so much.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Frank rolls his eyes, “Destroy the damn thing already. I’m watching this.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry stands up and walks over to the table, picking up the last fang, “It won’t be long before Voldemort finds out. Malfoy’s a coward and he won’t want to admit it but Voldemort’s skilled at Legilimency. Once he finds out, I’m sure it won’t be long for the final battle to start and I’m not sitting around and letting Hogwarts crumble again. Wherever the fight takes place, it certainly won’t be here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hear you loud and clear,” Sirius salutes Harry with two fingers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lily stands up and casts the spell on Baby Harry and Crookshanks that blocks their hearing and Harry stares at the cup, not really sure how to stab the metal. Turns out, it’s not needed because as soon as the fang collides with the metal, the venom does it’s job. It screeches and screeches and then silence. The last horcrux gone. Harry wonders if it’ll be his dad who steps up to defeat him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s it, then? That’s the last one?” Frank says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry nods. It’s not as satisfying as it was the first time but Harry thinks that’s because it all happened so fast. He can’t believe it only took two days to destroy all five when it took months to figure out just how to destroy the locket. It’s certainly weird, actually getting stuff done. Harry’s used to everything taking months or years to happen, not two days.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Suppose we should tell Dumbledore then,” Frank mumbles. His face suddenly hardens and Harry sees the same determination on his face that he saw time and time again on Neville’s, “It’s time to end this war once and for all.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>comments and kudos give me life<br/>I hope you all have a good day/night! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The final battle and nickname negotiations.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for getting this chapter out a day late! 4th of July was yesterday and I underestimated how long I was going to be staying with my family so when we got back home, it was too late to do anything. </p><p>So, don’t look into the logic behind Voldy’s death, just let it happen. TW for that scene, I talk about blood but not in detail. I hope you enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Like Harry predicted, the final battle starts rather quickly. One second, Harry is informing everybody of what to expect in Grimmauld Place and another they’re out in the middle of a Muggle street, fighting. Harry wonders how many Obliviators are going to be needed after this is all said and done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pets and babies safe, everybody gives the fight their all. Harry ends up battling with Barty Crouch Jr and enjoys getting confusion back to his quips about professors. He sends a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupefy </span>
  </em>
  <span>that sends Crouch flying back and a hush suddenly falls over everyone. Harry falls back into line with the Order and the Aurors and doesn’t hide the smirk on his face when he sees James a few steps in front of them, wand pointed at Voldemort as his chest heaves. Harry realizes that Voldemort hasn’t turned into the monster Harry knows. He’s still a man. He’s still Tom Riddle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Give it up, Potter,” Riddle sneers, his wand raised as well. James hasn’t broken eye contact and Harry can tell that this is a man who isn’t afraid -- to fight and to let Riddle into his mind. If Harry didn’t know it already, he would’ve known just by the look on James’ face that he has fought Riddle before but Harry does know. He knows that his father has fought him three times and this fourth time will be the last.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You say that every time and yet I still come crawling back for more,” James grins, a little crazed and unhinged but Harry can’t blame him. “Why not skip the pleasantries? My son’ll be waking up from his nap soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This causes the tension to snap and as Riddle shouts, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Avada Kedavra!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” James shouts at the same time, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Expelliarmus!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” and Harry watches as an outsider what his duel with Voldemort in the graveyard looked like and also gets first hand experience as to how stupid it sounds, casting a disarming spell when you’re attempting to kill someone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two spells collide and start trying to battle for dominance over the other, pushing at each other to try and reach their intended destination. Harry holds his breath, watches the stream coming from James’ wand start to push forward just like that night in the graveyard. But there’s no golden streams, no dome forming around them. This isn’t two wands with the same core battling, this is just two opposite spells clashing. This is James Potter and Tom Riddle, not Harry Potter and Voldemort. Harry realizes with a start that having your father be the defeater of Voldemort is just as bad as being the defeater yourself but he knows Baby Harry is going to have a much better life and decides maybe it’s not so bad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When James’ spell wins, it’s no shock to Harry, and it proves just how powerful the man is, something Harry never doubted. Voldemort’s wand sails through the air and into James’ waiting hand and James doesn’t even hesitate before a spell Harry never expected leaves his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Sectumsempra!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And it makes sense. As of now, this is just Tom Riddle. Nothing is stopping him from dying and Snape isn’t around to heal him. Harry is violently reminded of watching blood shoot out from his father’s body in one of Snape’s memories in his sixth year and wonders briefly how his father found out what the incantation was, since Snape did it nonverbally. Riddle stands, stunned, as blood starts to seep through his robes before finally collapsing. The Death Eaters are starting to realize what’s happening but nobody can move, only watch as their now powerless leader bleeds out in front of them. It’s what he deserves. He doesn’t deserve a painless </span>
  <em>
    <span>Avada Kedavra,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he deserves to suffer. Draco Malfoy didn’t deserve this; Tom Riddle definitely does.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry decidedly doesn’t join the cheering when Riddle finally goes limp because a second later, the Death Eaters start to scatter. One by one, disapparating to avoid the aftermath. Only a few are seized by the aurors. By the time everyone is back inside Grimmauld Place, the aurors have gone back to the Ministry with the few Death Eaters they caught and fantastic news, the Obliviators have arrived to start dealing with the Muggles who saw everything, and Riddle’s body is gone. Harry doesn’t care to find out where they took it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lily waits to pounce until after everyone has finished cheering and congratulating James and everyone takes a noticeable step back when she finally does. She lunges at him, throwing her arms around him and kissing him with such fervor that Harry is sure they’ll fall over but they stay upright, clinging to each other like they’re the only thing in the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She finally lets go and says, quietly but absolutely deafening in the silence of the house, “Would now be a good time to mention I’m pregnant?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone erupts again and Harry smiles widely. James laughs loudly, picking her up and spinning her around, kissing her again. Sirius and James share a very passionate hug that has Harry sharing an amused look with Lupin. Sirius hugs Lily after that and Lupin gets his own hugs. They all turn to Harry and Harry immediately starts shaking his head and telling them to stay back but he’s engulfed in a group hug and finds he can’t be mad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the excitement dies down, Harry gives a list of all the Death Eater’s he knows and places of where they could </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe </span>
  </em>
  <span>be. Before he knows it, they’re back at Hogwarts. Clio wraps herself around his shoulders and refuses to move as Harry informs Dumbledore that neither Slughorn nor Snape are the best choices for potions master and suggests finding somebody who is both skilled in potions </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>good with children, someone like one Remus Lupin perhaps. Dumebledore takes this to heart, now knowing that Harry isn’t an incompentant seventeen-year-old but a very competent adult who shouldn’t be ignored. When Lupin hears that Harry put in a good word for him, he almost cries as he hugs Harry. He says that while he hasn’t practiced potions in a long time, he’ll definitely take Harry’s confidence and use it to help him attain a mastery for it so he can potentially teach it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They don’t go back to Godric’s Hollow after everything, instead apparating to a little cottage in the middle of buttfuck nowhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s… this?” Harry looks around. He’s never been here before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My house,” Lupin — </span>
  <em>
    <span>Remus —</span>
  </em>
  <span> says, walking up to the door and pulling a key out of his pocket. “Don’t worry, I’ve got extender charms inside, it's much bigger than it looks. Much more illegal but we don’t have to talk about that part of it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry has no clue why he never thought Remus actually had a house. He guesses it likes thinking about your teacher’s house. You see them so often in one place, it’s hard to imagine they go other places.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The extender charms really do extend the house, even going as far as to add a second floor. There’s a sizable kitchen that leads into the sitting room where a muggle TV is sitting on a TV stand. There’s pictures on the wall of different moments that Harry stops to admire and they let him. After that, he’s shown the bathroom under the stairs before he’s taken upstairs. There’s three bedrooms up here, one for Remus and Sirius, one for James and Lily, and one for both Harrys. Remus talks about transforming the fourth room from a storage room into a bedroom but until then, Harry will be sharing with Baby Harry. Harry has no qualms with this; he finds that he gets along great with his tiny self. There are two more bathroom’s up here, one across the hall from James and Lily’s room and one inside Remus and Sirius’. After the tour, they all settle down in the sitting room and Remus turns on the TV, lowering them volume enough for it to just be faint background noise as they all collect their thoughts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Voldemort is dead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tom Riddle </span>
  </em>
  <span>is dead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry smiles, “That was badass.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James laughs, “I’ve never seen spells clash like that before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you have, haven’t you?” Lily lays a hand on Harry’s arm, her voice soft. “I saw the way you were looking at them, like it was something you recognized.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry shrugs, “I’ve had a duel like that when Voldemort before. In my fourth year. That’s an explanation for another day but… yeah. It was very different but similar, nonetheless.” Harry suddenly remembers his first question and says, “How did you know the incantation for that curse, Dad?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James’ eyes widen, “How do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>know about it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry stares at him and James sighs heavily, slumping against the couch, “I was awake in the hospital wing when Minnie forced him to tell her what spell he used on me. Bloody git </span>
  <em>
    <span>invented </span>
  </em>
  <span>it, both it and the spell that heals it. I’m absolutely appalled that his wand wasn’t snapped the second he healed me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry thinks his own wand should’ve been snapped for doing such a horrible thing to Draco, accident or not. He almost murdered somebody and he was let go with a slap on the wrist because he was favored by Dumbledore. Completely unfair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you’ve got that guilty look on your face. It’s the same as James’. What did you do?” Lily says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry presses his lips together, “Well, I somehow ended up with Snape’s old potions textbook in my sixth year and I did not know what the spell did.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James narrows his eyes and Harry wonders if this is what actually having parents is like, having people who will actually scold you for the bad things you did. “Who?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Draco Malfoy,” Harry flashes a fake smile at them. “We got into a duel in Myrtle’s bathroom. She spread it around like wildfire, saying there was a murder in the bathroom and that it was me who did it but I genuinely didn’t know that the spell did </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I think the only reasons I wasn’t expelled were because I was Dumbledore’s favorite, I needed to be around to kill Voldemort, and because it was technically an accident.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that turned out well,” James says. “What, with you dying and everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Voldemort </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>get killed, just not by me. And maybe not in my time but I’m trying not to think about that possibility so let’s move on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus listens and swiftly moves on, “I can’t believe it’s over.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can,” Sirius says. “Harry got here and suddenly, shit got done. We’ve been sitting on our arses for four years, I’m glad somebody came along and gave us a push.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t about to sit around and let the war drag on and on,” Harry says. “People liked to think I was incompetent without Hermione around, I bet they’d be laughing now. What a joke that was — I got into every single N.E.W.T class I wanted to take, granted I never took them, but still. And I got an Exceeds Expectations on my potions O.W.L despite being absolute rubbish at potions and having a teacher worse than my skills.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lily scrunches her nose up, “And here I was thinking you got the best of the two of us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure potions isn’t bad but Snape was my professor for five years and you can imagine how that went,” Harry says. “Plus, he was generally a bad person to all his students, not just those he held a grudge against. Neville’s biggest fear was Snape and he literally watched his parents get tortured so that’s saying a lot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lily sighs, shaking her head, “I don’t know why I’m surprised.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told Dumbledore Snape shouldn’t be a teacher and he took it to heart,” Harry says. Remus smiles at the mention of Harry’s conversation with Dumbledore. “Little me won’t have to deal with him. Should I just say Harry? That sounds weird.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lily’s disappointed and slightly angry look changes to an amused one, “You’re here for the long run, darling, just call him Harry. It’ll be easier. That or come up with some nickname, I’m sure you have that gene in there somewhere.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baby Harry, who has been content my playing with his dragon on the floor, now stands on wobbly legs and totters over to Harry, setting the stuffed dragon on his lap and continuing to play with it. Harry smiles, “I was an adorable baby.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This earns a laugh from everybody.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A nickname sounds better than Harry,” Harry picks Baby Harry up off the ground and sets him in his lap. Baby Harry giggles and shoves his dragon into Harry’s face. “Makes it sound like I’m not talking about myself in the third person. But not Prongslet because that’s unoriginal.” Sirius snorts and Harry smirks. The dragon gets shoved harsher and Harry chuckles, “I see him, he’s very neat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Baby Harry, seemingly satisfied with this response, lowers the dragon and starts messing with its wings, which are crinkly and tells Harry this is a muggle toy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think the real question is what is he going to call me,” Harry looks at them all and it dawns on them as well that they haven’t got a clue. Is Harry an uncle or a brother? A brother is more accurate but they are the same person, so there’s a lot of choices.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dwagon,” Baby Harry declares and Harry raises his eyebrows.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mm, interesting, I’ll have to think about it, let me get back to you,” Harry says, making Baby Harry giggle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What about Henry?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry flinches. He forgot Clio was on his shoulders. He furrows his eyebrows when it registers what she said, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s not a nickname, Clio, that’s just changing his name.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Harry is a nickname for Henry. I don’t see why it can’t be the other way around</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry sighs, “Clio is suggesting Henry because Harry is a nickname for it so… it makes sense and I’m angry at losing an argument to a snake.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were named Harry after my grandfather Henry, so it does make sense,” James says. “I think you could both call each other Henry. It’s not far off from your actual name and, like your… snake said, it is where the nickname Harry came from. I see no reason why you can’t nickname a Harry, Henry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright then,” Harry looks down at the baby in his lap, “Henry you will be, little me.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As I’ve said before, fast paced. This all happened in like, three days and Harry is absolutely pissed about it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be updated on Saturday, July 11th.<br/>Comments and kudos give me life.<br/>I hope you all have a wonderful day/night! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>New jobs and friendships are made.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello! Sorry this one got out late, I was in Baltimore visiting my family and didn't have access to a computer or privacy lmao. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Also, remember that Baby Harry is nicknamed Henry by Adult Harry and will be referred to as such for the rest of the story.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>With Lily’s steady growing stomach and Sirius being the only one with a job — a Muggle substitute teacher! Harry had almost spit his drink out when he learned about it — Harry decides to talk to Dumbledore about finishing his schooling. It’s not needed, James has enough money to keep them going well into little Henry’s twenties, but Harry feels restless just sitting around the cottage doing nothing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry fits right in with the seventh years in 1982 after Lily gives birth in August, and everyone gets told his story because having a weird look alike to the Savior of the Wizarding World suddenly show up is a little weird. He makes a fast friendship with first year Bill Weasley in an attempt to get acquainted with the Weasley’s again, though the friendship actually becomes the one thing that helps Harry finally let go of the life he left behind. Bill isn’t Ron or Hermione or Ginny by any means but he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Bill </span>
  </em>
  <span>and something about that makes Harry realize that dwelling on what he lost isn’t healthy. His sadness about Ginny subsides, the ache in his heart from losing his best friends dulls, and, unbeknownst to Bill, Harry becomes happy and whole again thanks to a hyperactive eleven-year-old. When Christmas rolls around, there’s an emerald green Weasley sweater waiting for him on his bed when he wakes up. He wears it proudly during breakfast with his parents, Remus, and Sirius and eats all the fudge his body lets him, much to James and Lily’s amusement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He makes the most of his winter break, spending most of it with Henry and Dahlia, the new baby, and heads back to Hogwarts genuinely missing the people he’s leaving behind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When summer rolls around, he finds out he’s passed all his N.E.W.T’s and can apply for masteries now. Of course he applies for a Defense Mastery almost immediately. After a tense exam for that and a week of waiting, his results come in and inform him of his new mastery. There’s nothing the five can do to stop Harry applying for the DADA position when it inevitably opens up. Remus takes a note from his book and when the term rolls back around, Harry will be going back as the DADA professor and Remus will be going back as Potions Professor, since Dumbledore finally let go of Slughorn.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s this same summer Bill manages to convince Molly to actually meet Harry, her being slightly hesitant to allow her fanboy sons to meet James Potter. James, upon stepping through the floo and into the sitting room of the Burrow, has two twins climbing on him and an eager nine-year-old Charlie Weasley asking him all sorts of questions. He assures a frantic Molly that it’s fine and when she notices that her twins are too entranced to be wreaking havoc, she lays off him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Harry, this is Percy,” Bill introduces the small boy hiding behind his back. “He’s shy around strangers but he’ll warm up to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Percy is quite different from the confident, insufferable boy he knew before and Harry decides that this Percy is much more tolerable. Without the war looming above their heads, Percy will never grow away from his family and break his mum’s heart. It’s a thought that has Harry smiling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And the twins — that’s Fred and that’s George,” Bill points to them as he says their names. “And that’s Charlie. And then there’s Ron and then Ginny, who’s almost two!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry smiles, “Quite a lot of siblings to look after, Bill.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill beams, “As long as </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>around, my little siblings will always be safe and that’s a promise!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Percy giggles into Bill’s shoulder and Charlie smiles widely, “Yeah! Bill’s awesome at magic!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry laughs, “I know, I’ve seen him do some charms and such before, he’s quite good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mum, guess what!” Bill suddenly exclaims. Bill, throughout the year, has proven to be almost as hyperactive as Fred and George and it’s so unlike the Bill Harry remembers. Harry wonders if it’s becoming a curse breaker that changes Bill into the coolest guy Harry knew or if it happens during Hogwarts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Molly smiles sweetly, “What, dear?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Harry — he’s going to be my professor next year!” Bill is practically bouncing up and down as he says this. “And then he’ll be Charlie’s professor and Percy’s and Fred’s and George’s and Ron’s and Ginny’s!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry laughs at the excitement, “The ministry is working to get rid of the jinx on the position and if all goes well, I’ll be the first Defense professor to teach for more than one year since the fifties.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s wonderful, dear, it’s about time they do something about that old jinx,” Molly shakes her head. “Did nobody any good waiting around that long — except, I suppose, you, because it was available of course.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry grins. He catches sight of Arthur entering from the back garden and uses the fact that Bill had told him about Arthur’s interest in Muggle things to say, “Did you know that Sirius works as a teacher sometimes? For muggles, of course.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill perks up and he and his father have a splendid time asking question after question, leaving Sirius dazed but happy because of all the attention he’s getting. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Such a dog</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Harry thinks at the same time Remus actually mutters it, earning a smack from Lily that makes him yelp like the dog </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>is. He mentions this to James and they spend a good minute laughing about the two before Lily reminds James gently that she caught him rubbing his head against the wall once and effectively shuts him up about that. Harry is glad there’s seven children running around because mentions of their animagus forms have started making the mood sour, considering Wormtail still hasn’t been found. The aurors are searching though and it doesn’t look like Percy has a rat, which is unfortunate, so hopefully he’ll be found and put into Azkaban soon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Molly’s cooking is as spectacular as Harry remembers and Merlin, did he miss it over the two years it’s been since he’s had it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill and Charlie are the two most eager when it comes to saying goodbye and Fred and George dramatically fake cry about James leaving. Percy waves politely and Ron and Ginny babble goodbyes before they all floo back to the not-so-tiny cottage in the middle of buttfuck nowhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The summer draws a close and Harry finds himself watching the sorting before he knows it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He spends his first class with first years explaining why he’s in the past and gets mesmerized stares for only a few days before they get over it, similar to how the school reacted last year. The seventh years are too comfortable with him, knowing that he’s only nineteen, despite what his beard says, and having actually known him before and Harry finds that he’s completely okay with this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He charms the Slytherins with Clio and his story of helping Remus, their new and </span>
  <em>
    <span>awesome </span>
  </em>
  <span>Potions Professor, get a hold of basilisk venom and skin — a story that does not mention that the source is coming from the school, but a remote location in Romania that Harry cannot disclose. He charms the Hufflepuffs with his sweet side — again, the inability to be mean to anything undeserving of it — and he charms the Ravenclaws by just being there at such a young age. The Gryffindors were taken with him the second they found out about his time-traveling-thanks-to-Death escapade. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry, by the end of the year, manages to get Trelawley moved to a position that doesn’t involve her seer ability and gets a new Divination professor appointed, something Hermione would be so proud of him for. It certainly is something that has Lily voicing her opinion — an opinion that is quite similar to the previously mentioned witch. As Harry and Remus better Hogwarts, Lily, James, and Sirius work to get better laws passed for magical creatures. By the time Harry is coming home for the summer, Remus’ chances of getting a job outside of Hogwarts have doubled and even if there’s bigotry and angry people, they still can’t fire him for the sole reason of his lycanthropy, something that has Harry jumping up and down since Remus can no longer be fired because of angry parents. It’s something that changes the lives of werewolves and other magical creatures everywhere and the impact is definitely felt in Ministries around the world as Shit Suddenly Gets Done by the magical creatures who were given jobs recently and haven’t given a valid reason to be fired yet. It’s like a big Fuck You to the previously horrible world. Harry loves it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dahlia and Henry are two and four respectively when Lily announces she’s pregnant for the third and final time. This baby will not be a summer baby, hopefully, since the pregnancy happened during summer, and Lily continues to pray that it’ll be born before the month of June, at least. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry and Remus go back to school for their second year of teaching not long after the announcement and it's the very end of May in 1984 when Alder David is born, much to Lily’s relief. Harry and Remus take the day off, letting Minerva sub in for Harry and letting Pomona sub for Remus, to meet him and they see that this new baby has a head full of untidy, dark red hair and bright green eyes, even more vibrant than Harry’s, his own having some hazel dulling them when you look close enough. Dahlia, with her tame head of black hair and hazel eyes, is absolutely taken with her new brother but Henry is anything but, standing across the room with his little arms crossed as he glares at the family on the bed talking to little Alder. Harry leaves their side silently and walks over, standing next to Henry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got a sour look on your face — like you’ve just eaten a lemon. What’s up?” Harry finally crouches down to look his younger self in the eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Henry stomps his foot on the ground, “I don’t like him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry raises his eyebrows. He thinks about how much Henry loved Dahlia when she was born and wonders what changed. “And why not, Hen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others have stopped talking, obviously wanting to see what happens. They’ve been trying to talk to Henry ever since Alder was born but they haven’t got a word out of him and Harry waltzes in and does it no problem. Henry’s stubbornness has always been a little more lenient with his older self, it’s not really a surprise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He—He’s going to take their attention,” Henry declares. Harry barely resists a smile at how well Henry is speaking now, thinking it’s not the time for that. “Just like Dahlia! And I don’t like it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I see what’s happening,” Harry nods. He stands up and scoops Henry off the ground, placing him onto his shoulders in one movement. “I’m going to take you on a walk, Hen, and we’re gonna talk.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But—“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No buts,” Harry grasps his tiny legs to keep him steady. “I’ve got to be back at Hogwarts by the end of today, little me, don’t make this last longer by arguing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Henry huffs and crosses his arms again but let’s Harry take him out of the hospital room. Harry starts walking down the halls with no real sense of going anywhere and starts talking quietly as he does, “You’re angry because Mum and Dad aren’t paying enough attention to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Henry hums his agreement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I think that’s valid but not very fair to them. Mum and Dad have got four kids to deal with and luckily, one of them is already grown and doing his own thing. But you three, Dahlia, Alder, and you, you’re still around. And while you aren’t getting as much attention as you used to, you still are getting plenty of it, it just takes a lot to raise a baby, Hen. Alder requires more attention than you do so he can make it to an age where he doesn’t need so much. It may seem pretty unfair but it’ll all balance out in the end, you just need to be patient.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I don’t wanna be patient,” Henry mumbles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, kiddo, but it’s the only way you’ll get over the jealousy and anger,” Harry says. “You’ll be fine, Henry. You’ll see.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Henry stays silent for a moment as Harry starts in his back to the room and finally speaks when the door comes into view, “Fine. I’ll be patient. Just for you, Henry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry smiles and squeezes Henry’s ankles, “You’ll thank me later, Hen. Now, how about you actually meet your little brother now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Henry sighs dramatically, “I guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Henry begrudgingly comes around over the day and by the time Harry and Remus leave to go back to Hogwarts, Henry has proven to be quite fond of his new little sibling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The school year wraps up a month later in June and Bill pressures Harry into spending his birthday at the Burrow, something Henry is all too excited to agree to as he and Ron have grown rather close, Neville forming a little trio between them. Dahlia has grown quite close with Ginny and Luna, the three girls getting up to their own nonsense when Harry visits.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie spends the night talking his ear off about how excited he is to finally start at Hogwarts and Harry indulges him happily, eventually ending up recounting the story of Norbert and Charlie almost falls out of his seat when he hears what his profession is as an adult.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dahlia turns three a few days before Ginny turns four and the two demand a conjoined party, much to Lily and Molly’s amusement, and end up getting what they want. Remus and Harry return to Hogwarts a few days after the party for their third year of teaching to get everything ready before the students arrive. Sirius has found a semi-permanent sub position at a small elementary school relatively close to the cottage thanks to a teacher going on maternity leave right before the school year starts. He’ll be let go of the responsibility within a month or two but Harry thinks Sirius is the happiest he’s ever been with his life. Harry makes sure to watch for openings for teachers at nearby schools without Sirius’ knowledge, keeping a piece of parchment and quill nearby at all times to be ready to send a note for Sirius to go get his rightful spot as an actual teacher. He can tell Sirius loves it more than anything, teaching Muggle kids math and English and his general teaching degree says a lot too. He’s adjusted well to the Muggle world and Harry wonders if it was the war that held him back from accomplishing this before he was whisked off to Azkaban for twelve years. Sirius has had his teaching degree since he was twenty-one, though. Whatever the circumstances of Harry’s past, or future, this Sirius is happy and that’s good enough for Harry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie wreaks havoc with Nymphadora -- Dora or Tonks, she loudly exclaims anytime somebody talks to her -- but not as much as the twins will come their first year, and Harry may or may not give him little tidbits as to secret passageways and such to help him. Bill spends most of his fourth year scolding his little brother and Dora and moving his name farther and farther up the list for a Prefect come next year while teachers start to realize that seven Weasley’s is not okay, absolutely not okay. It’s Harry who starts the trend of continuously slipping up — “Fre— Perc— Bi— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Charlie!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” — and one by one, his colleagues fall into a similar pattern and they all collectively agree after a week of Charlie and Dora realizing they can use the moment of confusion to their advantage to just call them Mr. Weasley and leave it there. Harry thinks this might backfire when Ginny arrives and doesn’t want to think about what she might do when she gets called a mister. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill, at Harry and Henry’s next conjoined birthday party at the Burrow in 1985, now fifteen and slightly more level-headed, loses that level-headed-ness when his Prefect badge comes in the mail. With a loud shriek that has Harry thinking the ghoul in the attic has a girlfriend, Bill bursts into the sitting room, proudly brandishing his badge high in the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Prefect!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he shouts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Bill, that’s wonderful!” Molly hugs her son and Harry smiles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You!” Bill rounds on him almost immediately after the congratulations and Harry raises his eyebrows. If this boy has taught Harry anything over the past five years, it’s to never think somebody can be </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>cool. Bill is the biggest nerd Harry’s ever met and it’s wonderful. “You knew, didn’t you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry smirks, “Oh, William… I know everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite his ominous tone, Bill marches over and punches his shoulder a few times, “Harry — James — Potter! I thought you were my best friend!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry laughs, “Why would I spoil the surprise, Bill? There’s no fun in that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill crosses his arms and raises his chin, a move that is better fitted to Percy than Bill, “What else do you know? Did we know each other in </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not very well, you were way older than me, already out of Hogwarts by the time I got there,” Harry says. “I know a lot of things about you and your siblings, Bill — it was the Weasley’s who really introduced me to everything magic and such. Ron and Ginny were two of my closest friends, Fred and George a close second to my other friends.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill can’t keep up the infuriated facade as his shoulders fall and his expression softens, “So… I was an adult by the time you knew about me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adult is a relative term—“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He barely dodges the swing at his arm with a triumphant laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was I like? Was I cool? I bet I was,” Bill nods. “Ooh, do I get my dream job? Do I ever marry someone?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To answer one question only, I thought you were the coolest guy ever,” Harry says. Bill beams and grins arrogantly at his family, earning laughs. “We all did because you were pretty awesome but as your best friend now, I legally cannot say that as you are actually a gigantic nerd.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>James and Sirius snort and Bill looks scandalized.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How dare you,” he mumbles, shaking his head. “You aren’t going to answer the other questions?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Some things are worth waiting for,” Harry says. “But I don’t necessarily know how it’s going to work, seeing as every circumstance that led to it happening will definitely not be happening again, if I have any say in it, so perhaps you’ll marry somebody completely different and we’ll both be surprised.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Circumstance? Oh no, am I going to have to deal with Minnie telling me about you scolding Dumbledore again?” James says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, but some people seem to be blind to reason when it’s Dumbledore saying it and I’m not having it,” Harry says. “A Triwizard Tournament is what I’m talking about, Dad. I almost died — somebody </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>die! If I even catch wind of Dumbledore </span>
  <em>
    <span>thinking </span>
  </em>
  <span>about that tournament, he’s in for it. I will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>stand by and allow students to put themselves in mortal danger for money.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You put yourself in mortal danger,” Sirius says and Harry’s glare tells him that this is Wrong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was forcibly put into that tournament at fourteen by a Death Eater polyjuicing himself as Moody to be our professor that year, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sirius.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I won, at the cost of Hogwarts’ other champion. Just assume from now on that every bad thing that’s ever happened to me was caused by some outer force. There was not one thing I ever asked to happen to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Got it,” Sirius nods, not making the comment about being Lily’s son that he wants to make, wisely deciding this is not the time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And it helps that I’ve grown up and realized that most everything that wasn’t caused by a Death Eater or Voldemort was caused by Dumbledore. I’ve absolutely no patience for that man,” Harry shakes his head. “There was </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>time it wasn’t any of those three and that was the easiest year, by far.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Was that my year? The one I spent the entire time making a dramatic entrance?” Sirius sits forward.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harry rolls his eyes, temper effectively extinguished by his godfather, “The one where I saved your life multiple times in one night? Yeah, that year. Everything that happened was purely your antics.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I like to hear,” Sirius nods. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I meet my wife at your Triwizard Tournament? But you said I wasn’t in Hogwarts,” Bill says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You came to visit me since I didn’t have a family who would’ve,” Harry says and Bill brightens significantly. “She was one of the other school’s champions, an amazing witch, really nice too. We were good friends, I like to think. Since the tournament is definitely not happening, you two will either meet somewhere else or you’ll marry somebody else. Who knows?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Interesting,” Bill ponders this for a few seconds. “But you told Charlie he works with dragons, why can’t you tell me if I become a curse breaker?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because Charlie isn’t my best friend, you are,” Harry grins. Bill groans loudly and Harry laughs. “It’ll all come together in the end, William, just be patient. For now, though, I believe there’s cake to be eaten?”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be updated on Saturday, July 18th.<br/>Comments and kudos give me life.<br/>I hope you all have a wonderful day/night! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry and Ron start at Hogwarts.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Alright, so, hi, hello. Chapter 8 is the last prewritten chapter I have and I am warning you now that I'm not sure if I'll ever update again after that. I'm very sorry to everybody who is enjoying this story but I did warn you in the tags so :/ Maybe one day I'll write Chapter 9 but I would't get your hopes up. Thank you to everybody who read the story, though! I'm sorry to disappoint you. I love you all! I'll upload Chapter 8 on July 25th.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The years pass by slowly and as Harry watches Henry, Dahlia, and Alder grow up in front of his eyes, he also gets a taste of what he missed in his life before. Lily and James are amazing parents and Harry's heart aches to know that </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>is what he missed out on but he’s getting it now.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Bill graduates in 1989, leaving his Head Boy legacy to Charlie when the time comes and earning twelve Outstandings in his O.W.Ls. Harry grins through the beating he gets for not confirming the fact that Bill does become a curse breaker. Harry doesn’t have much hope that he and Fleur will meet again as there’s no reason for Bill to take up a desk job anymore and he just hopes that whoever Bill does end up meeting and marrying is just as amazing as her. He leaves for Egypt not long after graduating and Harry will never admit to the sobbing fest the two had while waiting for the portkey to activate, even if James was watching it from the back garden. He’ll also never admit to having his own cry in his bedroom later that night.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie leaves to study dragons a year later, not staying around long enough to take up Bill’s Head Boy legacy but leaving behind his own in the form of Quidditch Captain, and Harry personally sees him off, telling him about Fred and George’s epic escape that hopefully won’t happen again. Charlie laughs through his tears and hugs Harry with fervor before taking off on his broomstick. Harry doesn’t acknowledge his own tears at seeing the boy go. Besides, an explosion behind him from Fred and George, now first years, interrupts the peacefulness of watching Charlie fly away and Harry jumps to action quickly. Turns out, it was an accident. They had unintentionally set off some Filibuster’s while trying to keep it together as they watched their brother go live his dream and Harry comforts the two emotional boys before leading them back down to Gryffindor Tower and taking away only five points each for being up in the Astronomy Tower. Percy, a third year and not so pompous yet, hears about Charlie from the still frantic teens upon their entrance to the tower and Harry spends another few minutes comforting Percy as well. Everybody had loved Charlie deeply; even Perfect Percy. Now, with two brothers in different countries and Hogwarts eerily silent as Dora mourns her best friend’s departure and the twins take a little bit to reign in their emotions, lest they ruin a prank again by setting it off with accidental magic, the three brothers eagerly await Ron’s arrival, excited to have four Weasley’s at Hogwarts once more. Dora graduates the next year and Harry introduces her to Moody, who she is staring at with admiration, and when Moody tells her he can work with it, she trips on her own feet and faceplants, her hair turning red along with her face from embarrassment. Moody, to Harry’s surprise, helps her up, claps her on the back, and declares she'll make a great auror -- he’ll be personally watching over her training to make sure. Dora almost cries with happiness and Harry feels a swell of pride for the woman he once knew. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>a great auror and this leaves Harry in a happy mood for the rest of the day, knowing that she achieves her dreams.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry gets his Hogwarts letter a week before he turns eleven and Harry turns twenty-eight. Ron got his months ago at the end of February, a week before his own birthday, but they had been waiting until Harry’s arrived as well as everybody else’s supply list. When August rolls around and Percy, Fred, and George’s lists finally arrive, they head off to Diagon first thing the next day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry, now living in his own little cottage not far from Remus’ with his own vault at Gringotts, takes some money out with the declaration of, “I am buying you new robes, Ronald, and nobody is arguing with me.” Luckily, nobody does, though Molly’s face twists up as she struggles to hold her assurances that it isn’t needed in.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry does buy Ron new robes, actually buying him a whole new wardrobe for Hogwarts but Ron promises to only show his mum the school robes, knowing she won’t accept anything more than that from Harry.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Henry!” Harry hears when they emerge from Madam Malkins and Harry peers over the crowd to see Henry rushing over to him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You found me,” Harry chuckles when Henry almost rams into him. Lily and James catch up and the four set off to find the others.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They find Percy in a second hand book store, Prefect badge shining on his chest as he glances up and jumps up from where he had been sitting on the floor reading. He places the book back on the shelf and happily joins the four in the hunt for the other Weasley’s, Remus, Sirius, Dahlia, and Alder. Percy seems a lot more humble in this timeline. He’s still mature and responsible but he’s less annoying about how mature and responsible he is, moving him from the bottom of Harry’s ranking of the Weasleys to somewhere closer to the top. Not that Harry has a list or anything.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They catch sight of red hair entering a second hand cauldron shop and quickly rush over. The group fully together again, it doesn’t take long to make their way to Ollivander’s.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry happily offers to pay for a brand new wand for Ron and watches with just as much curiosity as Ollivander as an Ash wood, unicorn hair core wand picks Ron, a different wand from the chestnut one that chose Ron before. Harry, who had nothing better to do while in Grimmauld Place before his fifth year, took to reading books about wandlore from the Black Library and retained a bit of this knowledge, enough to know the basics and what some woods mean.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ron is pleased, though, and Harry doesn’t get a chance to ask any questions as Ollivander is beckoning Henry up to get his wand. Harry feels a rush of excitement -- ever since reading up on wandlore, Harry has been wondering if his wand only picked him because of the piece of Voldemort inside of him and if the familiar holly wand picks Henry this time, he’ll know that his wand chose him over any other presence in his mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry gets more and more excited as wand after wand is cast aside, the shop slowly becoming messier and messier from the wands that react negatively to Henry wielding them and Harry’s heart jumps when Ollivander starts muttering about how curious the situation is before disappearing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s getting my holly wand,” Harry shakes Henry’s shoulders and Henry beams. He’s always loved the fact that they’re the same person and Harry can’t deny that he loves it too. “Maybe. I hope so. I’ve been wondering about my wand for so long.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ollivander returns with a box and opens it, presenting the wand to Henry, “Holly, 11”, supple, phoenix feather core.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry squeaks and Harry grins, his heart racing. Henry gingerly takes the wand from the box and everyone erupts into cheers when the wand chooses him. Harry jumps once in place before reigning himself in and saying, “I knew it. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Henry asks eagerly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I knew my wand chose me because of </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> and not because of Voldemort, I knew it,” Harry’s cheeks are starting to hurt from smiling so widely. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ollivander, having heard the time travel story from the Prophet when it leaked and got out that James had two sons who were the same person, hums thoughtfully, “Most curious.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry moves his eagerness onto the man in front of him, “Curious?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I remember every wand I’ve ever made, Mr. Potter,” Ollivander says and Harry barely contains another jump. “Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix who’s tail feather is in your wand gave another feather -- just one other. It is most curious you should be destined for this wand when your father defeated the man who owned its brother.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry’s eyes widen, “My wand -- it’s the brother of Voldemort’s?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Very curious indeed,” Ollivander nods.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoa,” Henry breathes. “Dad, did you hear that?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>James smiles, having heard the story of Harry getting his wand before, “I did. It’s very interesting.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When they leave the shop after paying for the two wands, Henry declares he wants to make wands when he grows up and Harry encourages him almost immediately. Had teaching not been so important to Harry, he thinks he might've taken up wand making too. It’s probably the most interesting thing he’s learned since arriving in the wizarding world, and that’s really saying something when you look at Harry’s Divination score and realize that a lot of wandlore is just speculation around woods and cores and such. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Say, Henry,” Harry says, placing a hand on his younger self’s shoulder, “I’ve yet to get you a birthday present.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry grins, “What’d you have in mind, then?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry glances at Lily and she smiles, already knowing where this is going. “How about I buy you a pet?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry looks at his parents and they nod their approval, “Okay! I’d like an owl!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry smiles and their large group make their way to Eeylops. Harry and Henry enter alone and Henry immediately starts dashing around, looking at every owl and even stopping to pet a few that don't give him a murderous stare when he looks at them. It’s when he stops in front of a familiar snowy owl does Harry realize that despite their different upbringing, they are still the same person. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Her,” Henry breathes and Harry’s smile softens. A woman makes her way over and before Harry knows it, they’re leaving the shop and Henry is contemplating names, sifting through famous witches he knows. Because they really </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>the same person and Harry only needs further proof to see it, even though he already has.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hedwig!” he finally shouts around a mouthful of ice cream fifteen minutes later and Harry chokes on his own ice cream, only barely managing to suppress the coughing fit that hits him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hedwig? That’s it?” Sirius says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry nods firmly, “Her name will be Hedwig.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright there, Harry?” James asks and Harry realizes with a start that he’s never told them about Hedwig. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry smiles weakly, “Fine. Just realizing that we’re the same person.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>James chuckles, “You had an owl, then?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry nods, quickly eating some more of his ice cream before answering out loud, “That same owl right there, in fact. I named her Hedwig too.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry looks delighted about this fact but he quickly picks up on the sadness evident in Harry’s tone, “What happened to her?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She died a few nights before I turned seventeen when we were trying to get me to the Burrow and away from the Dursleys. It’s fine, though, I think it was for the better anyway. She would’ve been waiting for me to come home if she had survived and I just… do not like the image of that. She’s got a good owner now though,” Harry ruffles Henry’s hair and his smile returns. “And she’ll never be locked in her cage, that much I know. If the Dursleys taught me anything, it was that an owl gets irritable after only a few hours locked in a cage.” And maybe all his basic living skills but the way they taught him those had been even worse than Snape’s teaching skills.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll make sure she never gets locked in then,” Henry declares. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you will,” Harry says. “And don’t feel sorry for me, yeah? I’ve got Clio and I’m pretty content with just the one pet for now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With school shopping done, Harry and Remus start packing and head out to Hogwarts on the fourteenth to get everything ready. This’ll be their eighth year of teaching.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The jackpot for winning the where-will-Harry-be-sorted bet is growing larger everyday by growing tensions between the professors over such a trivial matter. Harry is at an all out war with Filius and Pomona, both of which are saying their own houses while Harry says it’ll be Slytherin. His war with Minerva and Remus is most impressive, though, over Slytherin or Gryffindor. Any time they all see each other, it’s with a harsh glare and Harry have never been more cross with the two. The other professors who don’t know Henry as well as the five battling over it find this all very amusing, along with them being Poppy who refuses to join in though she’s obviously siding with her wife on the matter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By the time the sorting comes around, Remus and Minerva have started sending harmless jinxes at Harry when they pass in the corridor, Harry sending them right back when this happens. Harry suspects that if the sorting didn’t come around when it did, they would’ve started using not-so-harmless hexes when passing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hannah goes to Hufflepuff again, Susan joining her. Lavender goes to Gryffindor. Seamus is placed in Gryffindor, something Harry isn’t surprised to see at all. Hermione heads off to Ravenclaw and Harry is glad. He thinks it’s a much better house for her when he knows he won’t be around to knock some sense into Ron about a friendship with her. It’s no surprise to see Draco head to Slytherin, though the hat had taken a few seconds longer than before to choose this. Neville goes to Hufflepuff after a long consideration. Pansy is in Slytherin. Parvati goes to Gryffindor and Padma goes to Ravenclaw, just like before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, after what felt like years, Minerva finally calls, “Potter, Harry!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The hall erupts into whispers. Time-traveler-Harry and actual-Harry in the same castle at one time? It’s something for the history books. Oh and he’s the savior’s son but Harry can tell most everyone is more worried about the two Harry’s and not that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry watches with bated breath as Henry walks up to the stool confidently, back rigid and face passive, no doubt having practiced with Sirius. Harry takes a seat and the hat is placed on his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a few more centuries pass -- it’s really only about three minutes -- the hat moves and Harry crosses his finger, his face breaking out into a large grin when he hears, “SLYTHERIN!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Filius, Pomona, and Remus have a hard time holding in their groans. Harry cheers the loudest for his younger self, making the boy blush but smile widely nonetheless as he hurries down to the table and takes a seat next to a stunned Draco Malfoy. Minerva had shown only a twitch before swiftly moving on. Dean joins Seamus in Gryffindor and Harry is glad to see the old gang forming again, even if it’s missing a few people. Ron finally heads up to the stool and goes to Gryffindor quickly, leaving Henry and Neville out of the gang but Neville is already talking to Hannah and Susan and Henry is surprisingly having what looks like a normal conversation with Draco so Harry isn’t worried. Plus, Henry and Neville are Ron’s best friends so Harry has no doubt the five will conjoin again at some point.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blaise Zabini heads to Ravenclaw and only looks slightly miserable about this, most likely thinking of his mother’s reaction to him not being a Slytherin more than actually being a Ravenclaw.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Later, in the staff room, Dumbledore allows them ten minutes before the meeting starts.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Minerva’s pinched face is almost more satisfying than finding out that Wormtail had been caught and thrown into Azkaban with the rest of the Death Eaters a few years before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we were up to twenty-five galleons,” Harry says, not hiding the smugness in his voice. “That’s twenty-five each -- you all lost.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The staff meeting starts with Harry a hundred and twenty-five galleons heavier.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>comments and kudos give me life<br/>i hope you all have a good day/night! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry and Little Harry have a talk and Harry begins to realize something.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, this is the shortest chapter I've written for this story and also the worst. I'm horrible at romance but :') so this probably came out of nowhere but just... bear with it. Also, as previously stated, this is the last chapter I have prewritten so :/ I honestly didn't expect this story to get the love it did so I feel bad about putting it on the back burner but you've all been so nice about my losing inspiration and I just :') I love you all</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A few nights later, Harry is patrolling the seventh floor when he hears the scuffling of feet. He freezes and so do the feet. A smirk makes it way onto his face, “Sneaking around already, Henry?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There’s a second of silence before a tiny, “No,” is heard. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry snorts, “Dad didn’t give you his cloak for no reason. You aren’t in trouble, Hen, c’mon.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry groans and tugs the cloak off himself, revealing himself a few steps in front of Harry, “You can’t play favorites, Henry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry raises an eyebrow, “Who said I was playing favorites? Not in trouble means I won’t be giving you detention, little me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry’s eyes widen, “How many?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll only take ten points from Slytherin for now but next time, pick up your feet as you walk so I can’t hear it,” Harry smiles. “C’mon, I’ll take you back down to the dungeons. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a little bit anyway but you always run off after my class.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry places a hand on Henry’s shoulder and starts leading him down to the dungeons. Henry frowns, “I don’t want to make my friends wait, plus, I figured you’d like… ask after me or something.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Who’ve you made friends with?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Henry perks up and smiles widely, “Well, I made friends with Draco Malfoy first. Sorry, Draco Black, he doesn’t go by Malfoy but his mum can’t get his name changed yet. And then I met my dorm mates so we’re all friends too but I’m mainly close with Theo Nott and Draco right now. And Pansy Parkinson. I haven’t had time to talk to Ron or Neville yet but Ron seems to be getting along with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan and Neville is getting along with Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones so I’m not too worried.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry hums, “That’s good, Hen, I’m glad you’ve made friends. What about your classes?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re good. Remus is the best, everyone agrees about that. And I actually like History of Magic, I just wish Binns was a little more fast paced,” Henry says seriously. “I’m about to start reading history books just to learn faster.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry grins, “Well, you sure are more excited about doing schoolwork than I ever was. What else?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know. There’s this one guy who’s really annoying but he’s a good professor, unfortunately, so I have to deal with him,” Henry says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It takes Harry a few seconds too long to realize it’s him Henry is talking about, “Okay, you menace, calm down. You’ve been here four days, I will get better.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mhm, I’m sure,” Henry nods seriously. “I’ll be waiting.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I ought to tell Mum about this.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you wouldn’t.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t test me, Harry James, I’m not above letting my mum deal with my problems.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Neither am I. May the best Harry win,” Henry holds his chin high and they stay silent for all of two seconds before they both dissolve into quiet laughter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m glad you’re enjoying everything, though,” Harry says after they’ve calmed down. “I’ll admit, everything gets way better in your third year. That’s when it starts going uphill.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So I’ve heard,” Henry says. “Fred and George are definitely having more fun already but, then again, they are the main reasons the fun is happening, so.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry continues to talk with Henry about his other classes and they reach the dungeons in no time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This is where we part, little me,” Harry ruffles Henry’s hair. “Like I said, pick your feet up next time or learn a Silencing Charm to cast on your feet, that’s what I did. After being told to because I was not as smart as I am now. Next time I catch you out, I’ll take more points. I’m only letting you go with ten because it’s the first time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Henry mumbles. “Goodnight, Henry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry grins, “Goodnight, Henry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry heads back to the seventh floor to finish his patrolling. When he finally gets back to his quarters an hour later, he finds a letter waiting for him on his bed. He picks it up and decidedly ignores the little jump his heart makes at seeing Bill’s familiar handwriting, quickly opening it and unfolding the letter as he sits down on his bed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hey loser,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m sorry I haven’t been keeping in touch, I’ve just been so busy, but I promise I’m taking every chance I get to sit down and write to you and my family. Anyway, how’s it going? What is this, year eight of teaching? Little Harry and Ron started a few days ago but I haven’t heard what house they’re in yet. I’m assuming Gryffindor for Ron and Slytherin for Little Harry and I have a hunch that I’m right. I did hear, however, from James that Little Harry wants to get into wand making when he’s older and I think that’s wonderful, wand making is such a cool job. But enough about them, what about you? I miss you, mate, if you’re down to do emotions right now. If not, skip this part. I can’t wait to see you again! It’s been a few years, huh? Too long, if you ask me. I love this job, it’s been my dream since forever, but I’m honestly thinking about asking if I can find some stuff to do back in Europe. Egypt is awesome and meeting new people everyday is the coolest but I’m missing home bad, mate. And, believe it or not, it’s not the missing my family that’s making me consider coming back to Europe, it’s the missing you I can’t get over right now. You were at my side for eight years! I spent more nights in your personal quarters than my own dorm room and I’m getting along good with the people I’m working with but I miss our idiotic talks at three in the morning. Feelings, huh? I don’t like them very much. I blame you and you’re stupid personality, making me want to be around you and all that bullshit. How dare you? Anyway, I’ll stop so you don’t start crying or anything, not that I’m about to. That’s completely barmy. Tell me all about what you haven’t told since your last letter, alright? I think I might finally get to come home this Christmas but don’t get your hopes up. I’ll be impatiently awaiting your owl and definitely not crying while thinking about how much I miss you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>A very big hug and kiss on the forehead from your favorite loser,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Bill</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harry laughs wetly and quickly gets out some parchment and a quill, writing a letter back to Bill confirming that Bill is justified with his feelings because Harry misses him just as much and also telling him about recent events, like winning a hundred and twenty-five galleons after the sorting. He sends it off with Hedwig, who has started stopping by his quarters every night, most likely knowing how much he loves her and wanting to check on him like the little mother she is. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He goes to bed that night very much ignoring the ache in his heart and the true meaning behind it, instead telling himself it’s just because he hasn’t seen his best mate in a few years.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Because Harry may be actively smart now but he never stopped being oblivious.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... yeah. This came out of nowhere but I hope you still liked it lmao. Bill and Harry make me soft.<br/>Comments and kudos give me life!<br/>I hope you all have a good day/night! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And there you have it :) first chapter done<br/>comments and kudos give me life<br/>i love you all and i hope you have an amazing day/night &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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